Tamers - Daybreak
by SennaNyx
Summary: An AU 03 fic. A young female Tamer named Elliot moves up from the south to attend high school with the other Tamers. As the others become used to her, relationships are formed & become more complex. Features these characters juggling the responsibilities of both Taming & their high school lives, & an evil slowly returning to power. (Eventual Elliot/Henry, other pairings canon)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! So this is my first digimon fic in a while and I'm really excited about it! It's got an OC (who isn't a Mary-Sue lol) cuz I always thought Tamers would be a lot more interesting with one more character lol. I have most of an outline planned for this fic so I pretty much know where it's going.

Some stuff yall should know: This story takes place somewhere on the east coast of the US, meaning everybody (except Takato) is magically American. Everybody is in high school, but the events of season 3 never took place - they just have their digimon partners and have been dealing with the wild digimon when they spawn. And I'll add more if I think of it.

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Elliot walked along the sidewalk, approaching the address she had scrawled on a piece of paper. She had found the house all right, despite being very new to the area – normally she had a terrible sense of direction and would spend hours searching for one place. But she still couldn't believe she had agreed to this, especially on a Thursday evening. The bag slung over her shoulder squirmed, and a fuzzy, little white head with a red tuft of hair poked out. "Are we there?" he asked, excitement evident in the way his crimson mohawk stood on end. His long, flat ears twitched upward.

She pushed him back into the bag, but kept a hand on Gomamon's furry, warm body. "Yes, but don't come out until I say," she said. She knew how eager he was to meet other digimon. It had been lonely for him when they lived in the deep south; as far as she knew, she was the only Tamer in that area.

Despite it being mid-September, there was a bite to the air, and she shivered in her overcoat. She couldn't believe the weather here. In Mississippi, temperatures would remain very warm until December. Already she was quite unimpressed with her new home and longed for the south. As she drew nearer to the loud music and voices, she took a moment to tend to her appearance. She retied her scarf for the third time, checked her teeth in her pocket mirror, and ran her hand through her hair. She had never been to a high school party before. Ryo, her old friend who had invited her, had given her the impression that it would just be the few other Tamers attending – not everyone at her new school. The pounding music made her nervous. Elliot sighed inwardly. She shouldn't have come. She should have been out looking for a job, not meeting strangers at a party. She considered chickening out; there were way too many people here, and she knew she wouldn't exactly be the life of the party.

But Gomamon huffed at her from the bag. "Would you hurry up?" he said. He drummed his black claws on the edge of the fabric. Before she could respond, he was speaking again, his large green eyes fixed on her. "Why aren't you more excited about this? It's about time you got out and made some friends."

Elliot closed the mirror with a snap. Gomamon would never forgive her if she bailed now. "I'm just a little nervous, Gomamon. Now stay hidden."

Her little partner retreated into the bag with a grumble. Her legs shook as she approached the door, where the loud music had become almost unbearable. She took a deep breath, then rang the doorbell.

It took a few moments, but a familiar face answered the door. The noise of the party grew louder. "Hey! There you are!" said Ryo, smiling hugely at her. She gave him a half-hearted grin. "We were starting to wonder if you would show up."

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she stepped inside, her eyes running over his gelled-up hair and semi-formal clothes. Though she was no expert regarding high school social niceties, she did think it was strange that he would dress up for a casual party amongst friends. He smelled a bit like cologne and cheap beer. She had missed him quite a lot; Elliot and Ryo had quite an unusual, complex history. Nothing romantic – perhaps old comrades would be a better word, but there was a definite strong friendship between them. The house was quite hot, but after being outside in the cold, the warmth was quite welcome. It was decorated with expensive, tasteful furniture. She couldn't get a clear view of the layout because the lighting had been dimmed. There was a grand TV in the living room tuned to a music channel, and a crowd of people her age danced nearby. Elliot had never seen a TV that large. She had never been very into television; when they were younger, she and her brother would spend hours outside exploring in the heat of the summer months. In the adjacent room, kids drank and talked and played games, all with too much noise. Beer cans, empty and full, sat upon a table which had apparently replaced a sofa's spot. People kept returning to get more and more beer.

Ryo offered to take her coat, but she refused without explanation as politely as she could. The somewhat awkward exchange did not seem to sway him – he lead her away from the front door, chatting energetically. "There are three other Tamers here, besides me," he said as they moved through the noisy crowd. People shouted at him, inviting him to join or for a drink, and he responded just as briskly, assuring them that he would be there soon. Elliot smiled to herself. He was still as outgoing as ever, just as she remembered him. "They're waiting for you in the den here – some of them brought their partners, you know, so they have to keep them hidden."  
"Did Rika come?" she asked, side-stepping around a younger girl dancing wildly. She doubted that her harsh, angry cousin would make an appearance, but she still had to ask. Rika had not been present when Elliot left her mother and grandmother's house, where both Tamers resided. Elliot had seen Rika and Ryo only hours ago while she and Gomamon had been out, searching for employment. They had been walking back into the suburbs when a digital field emerged and a wild digimon arrived to attack them – a menacing Ogremon, if Elliot's memory served, had been its name. As she prepared her deck of modify cards and Gomamon set out to protect her, Rika and Ryo had appeared at the scene with their partners. Both hoped to collect the data for themselves.

Elliot very well remembered Rika's angry face when Ryo's partner, the powerful ultimate level she was quite familiar with, stole the kill from her and absorbed the data. She uttered some nastiness and disappeared, Renamon vanishing into the fog. Despite the two of them now living together, Rika did not appear to treat her any differently than she had the last Elliot had seen of her, several years ago. Ryo, on the other hand, was surprised and cheered to see her again, and had invited Elliot to the party with the promise that there would be other Tamers there. She had never met other Tamers before, besides him, and was eager to ask them questions about taming and digimon. Ryo's perspective had always been interesting to her. She couldn't wait to hear what other Tamers had to say and who they were partnered with.

Ryo barked out a laugh. "No," he said flatly. "I did invite her though, but you know, she can't stand me." He said it as though simply stating a fact. Elliot wondered vaguely how long he and Rika had been fighting over digimon. From their exchanges earlier that day, it had seemed like they were in constant competition with each other.

They had reached an archway decorated with curtains draping attractively around it. Elliot stared, admiring the design. She had never been in a house as well-decorated and expensive as this; she wondered vaguely what his family did for a living. The two stepped beyond the arch, revealing the den. It was a bit quieter in this part of the house, though just as dimly lit, and it was connected to a kitchen, where many different foods were spread across the island countertop. Elliot's eyes immediately fell upon a little digimon bouncing from couch to couch, its large ears spread to keep its balance. She recognized the digimon as Terriermon. A guy sat beside the digimon. He watched her come in, and his eyes were cautious and analyzing, but his expression light and open.

Gomamon apparently heard the digimon having fun, because he chose that moment to pop out of the bag, landing on his flippers on the floor before Elliot could stop him. His attention was fixed on the Terriermon. "Hi!" he said brightly. Elliot sighed and folded up the now empty shoulderbag.

The Terriermon's grin widened. "Hey – you're my size," he said, hopping down beside her partner. "You want to jump on the couches? Henry says it's rude, but I think it's fun."

And with that, the two leapt onto the armchair and took turns bouncing back and forth between it and the leather sofa. Ryo laughed as he watched them. "Sometimes I wish Cyberdramon was small enough to have fun with them," he said. "But, ah, Henry, where did Takato go?"

"He went to find Jeri," he said with a small smile. He had turned his gaze toward Ryo, politely paying attention to the person with whom he was speaking. Elliot noted that he was not dressed as formally as Ryo; he wore a flannel shirt buttoned up and dark jeans. She wondered, yet again, why Ryo had bothered to wear the dress shirt and slacks when everyone else was dressed so casually. "Apparently she had a little too much beer again."

Ryo laughed once more. "Ooh, all right. I can't wait to see that." People shouted at him from the other room, and he turned around and grinned at a group Elliot could not see. "All right! Jesus – sorry – I'll be back in a bit." And with that, he disappeared into the living room, rejoining the noise and the rest of the guests.

Elliot and the other boy were left alone as the music continued to blare at them from the living room. She shifted awkwardly, feeling as though she should say something, or at least sit down. "I, uh, don't think your partner listens to you," she said, trying to make it sound light – but even to her ears, it sounded like an accusation. Damn it. Way to make friends, Elliot.

She was terrible with names, but even she could remember he had just been called Henry. He smiled; it seemed sincere, even though she had unintentionally been making fun of him, and he moved so that she could sit beside him. "He's got a mind of his own, yes," he said with a small laugh. His voice was smooth, pleasant; he spoke a little too formally for Elliot's standards. She sat down, crossing her legs and keeping her back straight, as her mother had taught her. She was too warm, but she neglected to remove her coat. She couldn't risk it getting stolen.

Terriermon stopped playing for a moment to look at her. "You talk funny," he said, his head tilting inquisitively.

Elliot's mouth snapped shut. In the excitement of arriving, she had completely forgotten to shield her southern accent from those who were not used to hearing it. As soon as she opened her mouth, she knew she would be labeled as the southern girl. She cursed inwardly and tried to reign in her natural drawl.

Henry shot his partner a deploring look that had the little bunny cringing. "_Terriermon,_" he said piercingly. Her attention sharpened on him. It sounded as though he was trying to teach the little digimon manners. How odd. The thought had never occurred to her; she only berated Gomamon for embarrassing her or arguing with her. "She's from the south – I believe?" He looked back at her, and she gave him a nod, still too mortified to speak. "They speak differently down there."

Terriermon muttered something about humans and went back to playing with Gomamon.

"I'm sorry about him," sighed Henry. "He's still learning."

She shrugged. She wasn't sure what she thought of Henry. Despite his obvious politeness, his maturity intimidated her, reminding her of the adults who had failed her over the years. But, still, she would give him a chance. He was another Tamer, after all.

"Anyway – I'm Henry Darrow. It's nice to meet you."

He held out his hand, and she shook it. Now that she was away from the distracting, obnoxious crowd of dancing bodies, she found it easier to pay attention to those she had come here to meet. She took a moment to take a closer look at him.

He was more slender than Ryo, but there was definition in his wiry frame, and she wondered what he did for exercise. He was somewhat tanned as well, something she had never been despite living in the deep south. His hair was darker than hers, almost black. He wore it short, and he had smoothed it over with some care. At least he hadn't taken as much effort as Ryo clearly had. He had an almost round face, but he had a sturdy jawline and a straight nose. Her face reddened somewhat when she realized he was handsome; she hadn't had a lot of experience in that department, but even she could tell that he probably attracted a lot of female interest. His eyes, gray as an overcast sky, commanded her attention.

She dropped her gaze as he studied her as well. "Elliot Alexander."

She could still feel his eyes on her, and she wished he would turn away or take a drink or something – there was something very intimidating about his gaze, as though he could understand more than he let on. "I think I've met you before," he said, his eyes narrowed and a hand on his chin. Then his eyes brightened. "Did you have fifth-period calculus today?"

Elliot stared. In an effort to remain invisible during her first day of school, she hadn't taken a lot of notice to the people in her classes. "Yes, I did," she said. She had always been a little proud of the fact that she had tested into a college-level calculus class; and clearly Henry was as smart as she had initially thought.

Henry nodded. He gave Terriermon a quick glance, as though to check on him – his partner was now happily play-fighting with Gomamon – before turning back to her. "I thought so. Was today your first day? What did you think of the school?"

She smiled, warmed by his genuine interest. "Yes, it was – I moved here last week. And I dunno, it was all right. A lot noisier than my old school." Everyone had seemed a lot more excitable than her somewhat reserved schoolmates back in the south. She could sense that Henry expected more detail, however, but she didn't know what else to say. Her social skills weren't exactly where they should have been, to her embarrassment. So she changed the subject. "But uh, I was wondering a bit about the digimon we encountered earlier today." She gave Gomamon a nod as her partner leapt on Terriermon's large head. The bunny-like digimon tottered on his short legs, laughing.

Henry gave her a wry half-smile. "All right. Always about digimon, then, is it? You remind me a bit of Rika."

Elliot sent him a cynical look. The comparison to her cousin disturbed her a bit - she and Rika were nothing alike. Elliot wondered, as an afterthought, if he knew that she and Rika were cousins. She realized he knew she had only changing the subject because she hadn't known what else to say. He was teasing her. How annoyingly perceptive of him. Before she could respond, two people walked into the den. One of them was a girl, laughing loudly, as the boy grinned hesitantly at her and held her by her waist as she wobbled about. A cup of beer sloshed in her hand. Elliot looked quickly to Gomamon and Terriermon, intending to ask them to hide, but she saw that Henry was at ease with them seeing their partners. She forced herself to relax.

"There you guys are," said Henry, looking toward them with a small smile. Either he was unaware of how he had slightly annoyed her, or he was very well aware of it and was letting her mull over the fact. Elliot grit her teeth. "Had a few beers, Jeri?"

The girl grinned, stumbling toward them with the boy close behind. "Lots!" she chirped. As she came closer into view, Elliot took a closer look at her. She had a small frame and was delicately built, and her complexion was quite pale. Her hair was a pretty dark auburn, most of which was pulled back into a partial ponytail, and she had round, open brown eyes. Her face was childish and her features fine.

Jeri's gaze fell upon her, and she froze a moment, her smile faltering. Then she took a tottering step toward her. "Oh – are you Elliot?" she said brightly, speaking over the noise in the other room. She had a high, girlish voice. "I didn't know you had arrived yet!"

"Yep," she said shortly, standing up to shake her hand. The other girl smiled genuinely at her, despite the alcohol in her system. "Nice to meet you."  
"It's great to meet you too! I'm so happy we found another Tamer!"

Jeri grinned at the boy Elliot had not yet met. He had been watching the scene quietly, observing her underneath his messy brown bangs. He drew his eyebrows together shyly and introduced himself. "Hi, Elliot. I'm Takato."

"Nice to meet you, Takato."

The Japanese boy before her was both shorter than her and slighter, and like Jeri, there was a fineness about his features. He kept meeting her eye, smiling, and looking away, as though too shy to make eye contact for very long. Elliot realized he reminded her of her timid younger brother, Thomas. She gave him a sincere smile as she sat back down.

"Ryo poured all of your drinks, right Jeri?" Henry asked her.

Jeri tilted her head, her preturbant eyes growing distant. "Ummm," she said, and she worried her lower lip.

Takato let out a small laugh. "He did. I watched."

Henry nodded. "Well, don't let her have anymore. I think she's had enough."

The girl pouted at him and took another sip as though in defiance. "You're no fun!" she complained.

Gomamon had watched the newcomers arrive from his perch on Terriermon's head. His wide flippers hung on either side of Terriermon's face, giving him the impression that the little bunny had grown an extra set of ears. Gomamon's eyes brightened when he saw an opportunity to speak. "Hi!" he said loudly, and both Takato and Jeri turned to look at him. "I'm Gomamon! Are you guys Tamers too?"

Jeri's hands flew to her mouth, and the beer sloshed dangerously in its cup. "Oh my gosh – is this your partner?" she demanded, giving Elliot a glance before hurrying over to Gomamon. "He's so cute!"

Gomamon happily accepted a head scratch from her. She removed him from Terriermon's head and pet him as though he were a cat. "Aw, you hear that?" he said from her arms. "I'm _cute_."

"Uh huh," said Elliot as she watched the two of them. For some reason, it bothered her that Jeri would pick up her partner without even asking. But Gomamon did look pretty happy, nestled in the strange girl's arms, so she let it go.

Takato took the armchair on Elliot's other side as Jeri rocked back and forth, holding Gomamon like a baby. "So, tell us more about yourself, Elliot," said Jeri. She grinned at her and stumbled over her words. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"For fun? Like hobbies?" was her response, and she glared at Gomamon as her partner giggled. The small crowd made her nervous, and she didn't like the way Henry watched her, waiting for her response. She absently straightened her shirt. "Well, I play guitar. And I like softball."  
Jeri gasped, squeezing Gomamon a little tighter. "That's awesome! You should totally play a song for me sometime. And I've always wanted to play softball, but I don't think I'd be any good. Are you going to join our high school team?"

Elliot paused, trying to determine what to answer first. She couldn't be serious about the guitar thing; they had just met. She had never met anyone so cheerful. What a strange girl. "Um, I might," she said. She had played a bit of softball at her old school, but had to quit when she started working. It was highly unlikely she would play this year.

There was a short pause, and Elliot shifted uncomfortably. Perhaps she should have elaborated on the topic. But then Takato turned to her. "I've never seen a Gomamon before," he admitted. He didn't have a drink and didn't appear at all tipsy. "Has he evolved?"

Finally, a question regarding taming. "Yes, once," she said. "Back in Mississippi, we were attacked by an Aidramon." She couldn't tell them about the terror she felt when the flying dragon digimon nearly destroyed her partner; the fight had been violent, and she herself had sustained a few injuries. She was proud of her partner for evolving at last and saving them both, but she would never forget the way he had looked when the fight was at its worst - crumpled against the concrete, his data flashing sporadically. "He evolved at just the right moment."

"Wow." Takato sat back in his seat, his eyebrows raised. He ran a hand through his messy hair, glancing for a moment at Jeri, who was talking with Gomamon and twirling about. "My partner still hasn't evolved. We've fought a lot of digimon too." He grinned at Henry. "And Terriermon's evolved a couple times, even though Henry doesn't like fighting."  
Elliot looked sharply at the other Tamer, feeling her respect for him begin to become strained. What was the point of being a Tamer if one didn't like to fight? True, Elliot didn't go looking for digimon to battle – but she certainly wasn't going to run away when one challenged her. Was he a pacifist? The thought had her grimacing. She had no respect for pacifists. Sometimes fighting was the only option.

Henry shrugged as Terriermon leapt onto his shoulder, clinging there with his ear wrapped around his neck. "Terriermon likes to get into trouble, I guess," he said as he gently pet his partner. Elliot wondered what the circumstances were that gave Terriermon the opportunity to evolve, but thought it impolite to ask.

The little white bunny snorted. "Oh come on! We just attract a lot of trouble. Not my fault."

"Do you get a lot of digimon attacks here?" Elliot asked curiously.

Henry nodded. "Usually Ryo or Rika take care of any digimon that spawn, but yeah, we do. And it's gotten worse." He paused as he and Takato exchanged a glance. "Which brings us to the point of meeting you, Elliot. We wanted to know if you wanted to join our little group of Tamers."

Elliot froze and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. This was a lot more than she had bargained for. They wanted her to join them? Why? What would they need her for – they had Ryo's supremely powerful partner to take care of any wild digimon that appeared. She had only come here to find out more about being a Tamer – now she was expected to make some kind of commitment? Elliot felt her heart begin to pound. She didn't want to be bound by obligations, especially when beginning her new life away from her birthplace. She had a brother to look after and a job to find. What if joining this group got in the way of that?  
It was then Ryo chose to arrive, saving her from answering. "Hey guys!" he greeted loudly. He had probably been dancing and talking to people, but his hair and clothes were still flawless. She wondered vaguely if he had taken time to check his appearance in a mirror. He held two cups of beer in his hands. "You guys look like you need a drink," he said, and handed Elliot and Henry a cup.

Elliot took it silently, still mulling over the question they had posed, but Henry let out a noise of exasperation. "You know I don't drink," he said.

Ryo laughed. "You don't? Maybe that's your problem," he said, and Jeri giggled. Elliot grinned, despite herself. Henry didn't seem to mind the teasing; he smiled, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. As far as Elliot could tell, the gesture was sincere. "I've gotta disappear again, guys, sorry – there's an epic game of beer pong going on, I can't miss it." And he left again, bounding out of the room with as much energy as he had when he arrived. Elliot wondered vaguely how he could afford to get this many people drunk. Where the hell were his parents? Back in the days when the two of them had worked together, they didn't talk a lot about each other's family, but now she was really wondering. She realized she wished she had more time with him; it had been far too long since she had spent a fair amount of time with her old friend.

Jeri watched him leave. She set Gomamon on the floor and eyed the living room hopefully. "Do you think there's any beer left?" She stood on her toes, trying to see over the crowd.

"Probably not, Jeri," said Takato, watching her wearily.

"I'm gonna check."

She walked out of the room before he could stop her, holding onto the couches and walls for support. Takato sighed and hurried after her, calling her name. Elliot almost laughed; apparently Jeri had already forgotten she wasn't supposed to have any more beer. Elliot and Henry were left alone once more, and as Gomamon leapt into her lap, she took a hesitant drink. She still didn't know how to answer his question.

Henry stared at her. He set his cup down, ran a hand through his hair, and gave her a look that she could only label as disapproving. "You're okay with drinking at a party where you don't know anyone?" he said. His eyes were narrowed and he had his arms folded.

Elliot shrugged. "I don't mind alcohol. And I'm not going to get drunk." She knew her tolerance quite well, and though she admitted to herself that it was irresponsible to accept a cup of beer at her age, she could really use a drink right now. And I know Ryo, she thought.

Terriermon giggled and poked Henry with a tiny black claw. "You should have some! Even Jeri's tipsy, and she's usually kind of a goodies-to-shoed."

"Goodie-two-shoes, Terriermon," he corrected. "And no thanks." He uncrossed his arms and looked at her again, studying her as though trying to understand what she was thinking. Elliot had never met someone quite like him before; he was perceptive, both toward others' feelings and the world around him. The insightful scientist, she found herself labeling him. The thought had her almost grinning. "What do you think about our offer?" he said. He spoke almost hesitantly, as though he had an idea of what her answer would be.

Elliot paused, stroking Gomamon's furry red mohawk. Her partner's eyes had been drifting shut, but at Henry's question, he perked up, watching the two with interest. "I…I'll have to think about it," she said at last. It was the best she could do without saying no outright. She wasn't sure if she would be able to explain herself if directly asked by Takato or Jeri.

Gomamon let out an irritated noise. His black claws curled, poking the leather couch, threatening to puncture the soft cushions. "Are you serious?" he said loudly. "What is wrong with you?"  
"Gomamon," she hissed, scowling down at him. Her little partner gave her his best glare, but curled his flippers against his chest and said nothing more.

Henry nodded, looking away. Her eyebrows rose; why was he being so accepting? Shouldn't he put up more of a fight about this? "May I ask why?" he said.

She swallowed. How would she explain herself without revealing too much? She should have thought about her answer when Ryo came in, but she had been too surprised by the question, and the beer he had brought had distracted her. "I just…I have to get a job as soon as possible, and I spend a lot of time working. I um, I don't know if I'll have time." In reality, she never could get enough hours to work the amount of time she wanted. Gomamon snorted at her words.

Besides, the dangers from the digital world had been taken care of. She and Ryo had seen to that years ago. There was no way that the wild digimon these Tamers were experiencing were any worse than what she had faced.

Henry's expression was carefully neutral. She wished she knew what he was thinking; could he tell she was lying? As tension sparked between them, he avoided her gaze and spoke in a monotone. "I see. Well, if you're looking for work, Takato's family owns a bakery. I believe they're looking for extra help."  
The words were sincere. Elliot forced a smile. "I can manage," she said. She knew he didn't mean anything by it, but she hated the suggestion that she couldn't find a job on her own. She had been independent for a very long time, taking care of herself and her brother since she had been old enough for employment. Elliot checked the time on her phone. It was a very old flip-phone no one used anymore, but she liked it, and it did everything she needed it to do. "I should get going," she said. Rika's family was nice, but she didn't like to leave her brother alone at their house for very long.

Henry sent her a surprised glance. "Are you sure? You just got here."

She just shrugged. "Sorry. I uh, need to be home for dinner." It was sort of the truth – Rika's mother and grandmother had made dinner, but it was long cold by now.

Henry's eyes swept toward the floor, and he gave a slight nod, though he was nearly expressionless. "Do you need someone to walk you home? Or do you have a ride?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," she said shortly. What was it with him? Did he think she couldn't take care of herself?

With Gomamon in her arms, she rose. To her surprise, Henry followed suit. "Well, it was nice meeting you," he said. They were standing rather close, and Elliot had to crane her neck to look up at him. He was nearly a foot taller than her. She took a slight step toward the archway. "You'll think about our offer, right? Please let us know what you decide." Terriermon grinned down at her from his shoulder.

Elliot swallowed a sigh. She didn't know how to tell him that she had no interest in joining their group, no matter how pleasant they seemed to be. She was interested in learning more about their digimon and taming methods, but it wasn't worth investing the time. "Okay," she said, trying to inject warmth into her tone that she didn't feel. Her heart clenched with guilt. Henry had been very kind to her and she had had no problem turning him away. "It was nice meeting you," she added sincerely. She hoped it would make up for her rejection. It probably wouldn't.

Despite everything, Henry smiled back. "You, too, Elliot."

"Bye, Gomamon!" called Terriermon as she turned away. The little bunny digimon waved at her partner.

Gomamon grinned, showing his pointed canines. He ducked into the shoulderbag. "Bye! I hope we can play again sometime," he said. Her heart twinged; she felt a bit sorry for him. There had been no other digimon for him to play with when they had lived in the south, and now that they had finally found other Tamers, she wasn't interested in spending time with them. Maybe she would give the matter more thought, for her partner's sake at least.

She left abruptly, before Henry could come up with a reason for her to stay. She saw none of the other Tamers as she squeezed through the party, but one guy saw she was leaving and walked her to the door. He was a big guy; athletic-looking and dark-haired, and he looked as though he played football. He tried to talk to her, but Elliot was in a hurry to leave. "We should talk more at school," he said smoothly, giving her a crooked smile.

She responded with him a dry smile and told him that might be nice. Then she left into the cold, brisk air, wondering why everyone in this town found her so interesting. Heart still pounding from her encounter with the Tamers and meeting new people, she walked down the path of Ryo's house and took a left down the sidewalk.

By this time, Gomamon was quite tired of sitting silently in the bag. He popped his head out, blinking in the cold air. "Well, I hope you're happy," he growled. She sighed and let him rant. "Those were the nicest people ever and you blew them off like they were nothing! Why wouldn't you want to join them? They could help protect us! They said that the wild digimon were spawning more; if we were in contact with them, they could help when we get in trouble. And I'd be able to hang out with their partners whenever I wanted. And it wouldn't hurt for you to make friends, either."

"_Gomamon_," she said, exasperation wearing at his name. She wasn't really angry with him – he was entirely correct. Perhaps she was a bit disappointed with herself.

Now they had to walk all the way home. Elliot found herself wishing she had her partner's layer of soft white fur. It was goddamn freezing in this place, and she missed the south even more. Rika's family had a spare truck and she had her license, but the truck was a stick shift, and she had never been taught how to drive one. She would have to try to get a job close to their house, otherwise she would be walking everyday. It wouldn't be that bad, but she would like to be sure she wasn't late.

At least I'll see Ryo tomorrow, she thought. The idea sent a smile across her face. She really had missed him and their adventures. She couldn't wait to talk to him again, learn what he had been up to. And, oddly enough, the notion of seeing Henry again in calculus was almost as interesting.

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A/N: Awww.

Next time: Henry narrates, we see what he thinks. Please review if you liked the fic! Much more to come!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Some setup with Henry's relationship with Takato and Jeri; Rika is introduced; Elliot's character gets some more spotlight. Yay :D

* * *

Henry had been silent for nearly five minutes before he remembered Terriermon was still hanging from his shoulder. His partner had probably recognized that he wished to think and had graced him with silence, but it was rude to ignore someone like this, even when that someone had been his partner for six years. He glanced to his left, his head brushing against Terriermon's soft fur.

"Terriermon, why don't you bring Leomon some food?" he suggested. The appetizers sat on the island countertop a few feet away from them. Henry realized he was hungry; he hadn't eaten since he had arrived. But he wasn't interested in eating at the moment.

His partner jumped from his shoulder to the couch. "Uh-huh. I know that face – you want to think about stuff, right? Probably that weird girl?" He grinned, folding his short, stubby arms.

Henry rolled his eyes but wore a smile, choosing not to scold his partner for his choice of words regarding Elliot. "Well, yes, I think she'd make a good addition to the team. Don't you?"

Terriermon hopped off the couch and walked over to the counter, leaping onto the stools. He reached for a few wraps. "Maybe. I dunno. I like her partner more. He was fun."

Henry gave a vague nod. The girl's Gomamon had reminded him somewhat of Terriermon, but with a bit more tact. He could tell that Elliot and her partner really respected each other, though. He and Terriermon had become so in sync that he was able to recognize the relationships between Tamers and their partners. He could see it easily with Takato and Guilmon; not so well with Rika and Renamon. "He was," he said as his partner opened the sliding door to go outside. "I'll call you when you can come back in, all right?"

"Uh-huh," Terriermon repeated. "You just don't want me around when you're thinking. You think I don't see these things, but I do." He giggled and stepped outside. Closing the door behind him proved to be a little difficult; he almost got his ear caught, but he managed it without asking Henry for help. His partner was too stubborn to do so anyway.

Henry watched him disappear into the darkness. Leomon would appreciate the snack. Jeri seemed to develop short-term memory loss when she had a few drinks, and had probably forgotten that her partner was waiting outside for her. Poor Leomon. At least now he would have Terriermon to keep him company, although he might not appreciate it.

He folded his arms, fixing his gaze on his untouched cup of beer on the table. That girl, Elliot, had been a bit odd, as Terriermon had crassly pointed out. She seemed to like him, but did not easily trust new people, perhaps him least of all. It was an unusual inner conflict he had never seen before. He wondered what it was about him that made him appear so untrustworthy to her, and why she had trust issues in the first place. She was definitely…interesting. He had to know more about her. She struck him as someone who was going through something in her life and might need help in some way. Neither Rika nor Elliot had mentioned why the southern girl had moved in with Rika's family.

Perhaps he could find out more in calculus tomorrow. It was worth a shot, assuming she would even talk to him. She had put up a tough, hardened front, reminding him once again of Rika. He knew they were cousins, as the redheaded girl had carelessly pointed out, but Elliot had seemed smarter, and a bit more complex than Rika. He wouldn't be surprised if she refused to talk to him at all tomorrow. Nonetheless, he would still give it a try.

Henry looked up when Jeri stumbled into the room. It seemed she had somehow lost Takato. He knew she shared a strong bond with the Japanese boy and they would often never be seen without the other, whether at school or outside of it. Henry knew his friend had feelings for her, but he would leave it up to him to choose when he would act on them. "Jeri? What's wrong?" he said.

The younger girl wrung her hands. Her round eyes watered. "I – I just remembered that my parents are home tonight," she stammered. She sat on the sofa beside him, her shoulders shaking. "I can't go home like this – they'll know I was drinking!"

She drew a great sniff and leaned into his shoulder. Henry stifled a sigh and placed an arm around her, holding her close. From their first meeting in elementary school, they had grown up and been there for each other ever since. She and Takato would often join Henry's family for dinner, and his parents were delighted to have guests, despite it bringing the total number of people sitting around their table to eight. He was already used to a large family – so adding two more wasn't a problem, even if they weren't related. As a result, Jeri was like a sister to him. Henry had been the first to get a digimon partner, then Takato a few years later. When Jeri finally got Leomon, Henry was so relieved that she had someone so powerful to look out for her.

But sometimes she was still the vulnerable girl he had grown up with. He supposed a few cups of beer hadn't helped, of course. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. "It'll be all right, Jeri. Takato or Ryo or myself will take you home. Your dad probably won't be up at this hour." Henry had learned very quickly to be wary of Jeri's father. He'd noticed it not long after she began coming to his family's dinners – the careful way she avoided talking about her family, the awkward verbal dodges when asked about her father.

And yet somehow she always maintained her cheerful front. Not when she was this drunk, however. Henry would have to have a word with Takato about her alcohol intake. He heard her sniffle again. "You will? But won't Ryo be sad to leave his party?"

He certainly would. His friend had spent a good couple of weeks planning this party and sneaking in the alcohol. "All right, Takato and I will," he amended. Ryo wouldn't want to leave his house alone with the guests over, after all. "Let's go find them and let them know, all right?"

"Okay," she said. The two of them got up from the sofa. As Jeri straightened her dress with a frown, she looked up at him, her mouth scrunched up to one side. "Henry, where did Elliot go?" she asked.

Henry collected his cell phone from the coffee table. He glanced at the glass door. Terriermon was nowhere to be seen – he was probably having fun bugging Leomon. "She left," he said shortly. "She said she had to be home for dinner." He had suspected she was lying, of course, but he thought it rude to call her out on it.

"Oh." Jeri seemed to deflate, her shoulders sagging. She kept her mouth scrunched up. "I liked her. I hope we see her again."  
He smiled. She had never really been a good judge of character. She always assumed the best in people and couldn't detect when they were disturbed or untrustworthy. He had seen neither of these traits in Elliot, but it was obvious that something wasn't quite right with her. "I hope so too," he said.

Ryo appeared suddenly, striding into the room with more cups of beer in his hands. At the sight of him, Jeri let out a squeak of fright and grasped instinctively for Henry's arm. "Oh, hi, Ryo," she said, relaxing and releasing Henry.

"Hi," he said uncertainly, looking at him. "Uh, where did Elliot go? She looked like she needed another drink."

"She already left. I thought you saw her leave."

But Ryo shook his head. "I didn't. Poor girl. I hope she gets home all right. I didn't see a car drive away."

A tremor of guilt ran through his spine, and his attention sharpened on the other boy. "What? She walked home?"

Ryo sent him a guilty glance. "I guess so."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Henry swallowed, wishing he had insisted upon taking her home. But she would have refused, and perhaps fought him. Why she seemed to fiercely independent was a mystery to him. If Ryo didn't know, perhaps she would tell him.

Jeri rocked back and forth on her heels. "I'm sure she'll be fine," she said. "She's got Gomamon with her. He was cute. So adorable."

"Yeah," said Ryo. "That little guy can handle himself. I've seen it."

He must have been talking about his and Elliot's adventures in the digital world a few years prior. Henry had meant to ask more about that, but Ryo had only told them about it earlier that day when he'd mentioned that another Tamer would be coming the party – a Tamer who, with Ryo's help, had once saved the digital world. Henry now had trouble believing it, given her detached nature and unusual partner.

But, at the same time, if it were true that Elliot had played a part in saving the digital world, he wanted her on the team more than ever.

Now, however, his main concern was Jeri.

"Could you get Jeri her coat, please? We've got to take her home. Where's Takato?"

"Right here," said the Japanese boy, appearing behind him suddenly. He looked harried, his jaw clenched and his hair out of place. He sighed when he laid eyes on Jeri, shifting his weight with his hands in his pockets. "Jeri, where did you go? I was looking for you."  
The girl blinked at him, her little hands covering her mouth. "Oh – you were? I'm sorry. I went to find Henry. I don't know how I lost you."

Ryo laughed. The drunken antics of his friends were endlessly amusing to him. He was probably a little buzzed himself. "All right, just a sec, I'll get her coat."

He disappeared into the loud, writhing crowd beyond the archway.

"What's going on? Where's Elliot?" Takato looked around the room as though expecting to find her hiding in the corner.

Henry opened his mouth to answer, but Jeri happily cut across him. "She left!" she said brightly, having forgotten that this fact had saddened her earlier.

Takato looked at Henry, his brow furrowing. He bit his lip. "Weird. What happened?" he said.

His stomach clenched in surprise. "What? Nothing. I just offered that she join us, and she said no. I thought I'd ask her more about it in calculus tomorrow."

Much to Henry's annoyance, Jeri and Takato glanced at one another. Jeri probably wasn't the best resource for information at the moment, given how inebriated she happened to be. But she and Takato seemed to have this strange, mutual understanding at all times. He wondered what they were thinking and if it had to do with him.

He was about to ask, but Ryo appeared with Jeri's coat. As he helped her into it, she chatted amiably about her day over the noise of the party, quite forgetting her previous distress. Henry smiled to himself. Jeri's mood swings, even when she wasn't drunk, were random but oddly endearing.

The three of them said good-bye to Ryo and left through the sliding screen door to the backyard, where most of their digimon partners were waiting. Henry didn't even have to call Terriermon to him; his little partner leapt to his shoulder happily, wrapping his ear around his neck and settling there.

Henry scratched Terriermon's fuzzy head as Leomon approached them out of the darkness. The tall lion-like digimon regarded Jeri with concern, and he looked at the two boys. "Is she all right?" he asked in his smooth, deep voice.

Henry sighed inwardly. "She's a little drunk, Leomon. I'm sorry. She'll be better in a few hours." He very much wished Takato hadn't let her drink so much. Leomon wouldn't appreciate his partner being so intoxicated in case a wild digimon attacked.

And indeed, the digimon clenched his jaw. "I see."

"I'm fiiiine," Jeri sang, clinging to Takato's arm. "Leomon, just go home – I'll meet you there. You're too big to walk with us."

"Yeah, see you later!" Terriermon said loudly in Henry's ear.

Leomon let out an exasperated sigh. "All right. Be careful." He sent Henry and Takato a warning glance – a look that told them how angry he would be if something happened to her.

The digimon disappeared into the darkness, vanishing as smoothly as Renamon so often did after a fight.

The three of them walked along the dark sidewalk. It was cold, but Terriermon's fuzzy body on his shoulder kept him warm. Jeri walked closely beside them, singing and muttering to herself, trying to balance on the edge, and Takato held her wrist in case she fell into the street. He was the only one who was shivering, having brought just a hoodie.

"So, what did we think about Elliot?" Takato asked, but the question was mostly for Henry.

He opened his mouth to respond, but Jeri, predictably, cut across him. "I liked her! She was fun, really pretty, and her digimon was adorable. And she seemed really smart. She'd be a really good match for you, Henry."  
Terriermon started laughing. The statement made his stomach clench, and he sent Jeri a quick glance, wondering if she was joking. Henry felt himself coloring. He expected Takato to laugh, but his friend had nodded in agreement. "I actually thought the same thing. She was a lot like you."

"Yeah!" Jeri chirped. "You should see if she's interested!"

Henry sighed and shook his head. He wasn't entirely sure if his friends were making fun of him. He had seen a lot of his own qualities in her, it was true, but he couldn't see her accepting him. She seemed remarkably difficult to get close to, despite the selflessness she displayed regarding her family. Henry tried to come up with a reason for her behavior, but it only confused him further, which was frustrating for someone usually adept at reading others. "I don't think she wants a boyfriend," was all he could think of saying. And it was entirely the truth.

Jeri crossed her arms. "Maybe not, but she just doesn't know you. A lot of people like you, Henry. Just give her time."

"Awwww," Terriermon crooned, poking him in the side of the head teasingly.

The comment had him smiling, but he wasn't particularly interested in that strange Tamer he had met today. Before he could thank Jeri, Takato spoke up again. "And you haven't had a girlfriend in, like, forever."

His blood ran cold. There was a very particular reason for this. His friends were no longer teasing him; now it had become very personal. Jeri was tipsy enough to remind him what had happened with his last girlfriend, and he wasn't ready for the pain associated with those memories. "I'd rather not talk about that," he said curtly.

Takato's eyes dropped to the sidewalk immediately, and Jeri glanced away. Henry knew he had spoken with uncharacteristic harshness, but he couldn't stand talking about her. Even Terriermon knew to keep quiet.

They dropped Jeri off at her house. All the lights were out, but Jeri had a key. Henry put aside his anxiety when he received a text from her letting them know she had sneaked into the house without any trouble. They wouldn't have to deal with her angry father that night. Knowing Jeri, though, she may have lied to avoid hurting their feelings in the event that her dad had caught her. He prayed that wasn't the case.

Takato and Henry both lived within the city, but they would have to go their separate ways before long. "Are you going straight home?" Henry asked him, wondering if he should walk with him until they were forced to part, since he had his digimon with him and Takato did not.

"Nah," said his old friend. He shivered, but grinned at him. "I was thinking I'd go see Guilmon. I brought him some snacks from the party. I hope Ryo won't mind."

"He's not gonna notice they're gone," squeaked Terriermon from Henry's shoulder. "I think he had quite a few drinks." His partner giggled.

Henry grinned, despite himself. "I think he did too."

Takato yawned, then glanced at him, worry clouding his normally serene expression. "Oh, and I'm sorry about mentioning..._that._ I wasn't thinking."

Henry had known him long enough to know he was sincere. Takato had been there for most of the fallout of the end of the breakup; he knew most of what had happened. It was Jeri who had been there for him for the entirety. "It's all right," he said easily. "But don't let Jeri drink that much again." He said it lightly, but he hated seeing her that inebriated, despite how amusing it was.

"Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry about that, too." His old friend scratched the back of his head. "Seriously, though, we need her on the team. Elliot, I mean. You should try to convince her at school tomorrow."

"I will," he said. Terriermon was yawning too, munching on some food Henry hadn't noticed he'd taken.

"Or we Ryo can. They seemed really close. They're old friends, right?"

Truth to be told, Henry could not see Elliot being friends with someone like Ryo. She seemed sensible, level-headed; meanwhile Ryo often went charging into adventures and danger. There must have been a dire circumstance that had drawn them together – the digital world, for instance. "Yeah. I'll mention it to him."

"Good." Takato blinked at him, suddenly apologetic. "And I meant what I said. I think Elliot would be really good for you."

As Henry's smile slipped from his face, Terriermon giggled again. "Yeah! You guys would be so cuuute!"

"_Terriermon_," Henry muttered.

Takato sighed and ignored the interruption. "Just think about it, okay?"

Henry knew Takato was only worried about him. It was his nature to make sure his closest friends were happy and in a sound state of mind. Henry had done his best to forget what had happened with his last relationship, and he wasn't sure if going after the next girl who just might be a good match for him was the best course of action. Still, he appreciated Takato's words. "Okay," he said, though he knew he wouldn't.

"All right, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Henry."

"Tell Guilmon I said hi," was his response.

They parted ways. Henry walked home with his hands in his pockets, listening to Terriermon munching on something in his ear. He didn't know why his friends were so concerned with who he was dating. It hadn't been much of a concern for them; until his last relationship had ended so badly, that is. Perhaps Takato and Jeri were going to start dating soon and wouldn't want him to feel like the third wheel. He sighed and turned a corner. Surely they had known each other long enough to know he wouldn't be bothered.

His friends were just worried about him. He knew that they had never seen his pride nor his mental state take such a hit as when he broke up with that girl. Henry wished they wouldn't bother. He would decide when he was ready to date again, not them.

His house was just ahead, behind the gated fence and white siding. Henry felt his heart leap at the thought of seeing his siblings. He hadn't yet heard about Suzy's day at school – she often had some funny story to tell. As Terriermon babbled at him, trying to annoy him, he walked up the stairs to his home.

* * *

Elliot returned to Rika's home to find, much to her surprise, that her cousin's mother and grandmother had stayed up until she returned. As Gomamon ducked into the shoulderbag, she stepped nervously into the dining room to thank them, unused to this generosity.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear," said her grandmother. Her model daughter had clearly gotten her looks from her; her face was elegantly lined, her hair kept in a beautiful blond bob flecked with gray. Elliot hadn't seen her grandmother since she visited when Elliot was very little. She felt as welcome in her presence as she had all those years ago. Her grandmother and aunt sat at the dining room table, enjoying some sleepy time tea. "We made dinner for you. It's in the refrigerator. You like meatloaf?"

An odd feeling in her stomach, Elliot walked over to the fridge to find a plate wrapped with plastic wrap. The meatloaf bulged in the center, cold but appetizing. She took it out of the fridge. "Thank you," she said again, but the words meant nothing to her. Actions were what would matter. "I...I'm trying to get a new job," she said. "So you guys won't have to provide everything for me."

The two generations of O'Haras glanced at one another. Her aunt was the first to recover. "Elliot, honey, we don't mind. You're my sister's daughter – you're family. We're not asking you to go to work to pay for staying here." She was very beautiful, her heart-shaped face accented perfectly with makeup. Rika's mother had been delighted to have another girl in the house; she had a collection of outfits she wanted Elliot to try. Elliot didn't mind dressing up for her as much as Rika did – if it made her happy, she would do it.

Elliot hovered around the microwave. She wanted to believe them – but instinct told her they were just saying that because they had to. She would never think of this as her home. It was Rika's house first, and she was a trespasser. Rika had every right to be resentful of her being there. Elliot appreciated the words, though. "Is Thomas asleep?" she asked.

"He should be, but he may have waited up for you too."

She would check on him either way. Elliot warmed up her food and sat politely at the table with most of her remaining family. She had left Gomamon in the bag beside the chair, but he would have to wait a bit before he would be brought to her room. She would try to eat fast, at least.

They asked her about the party. She had mentioned it to them before she had left, because she simply could not lie to those who were providing her with a home. "Did you make any friends?" her aunt asked.

Elliot didn't understand the concern with her having friends, but she answered the question anyway. "Uh, well, I saw one of my friends there," she said, and hoped it would be enough.

"Oh – what is her name?"

"Er, his name's Ryo," she said, rubbing her knees awkwardly.

Elliot's aunt and her mother glanced at one another. "Really?" said her grandmother. A sly smile crossed the old woman's face. "I sometimes hear Rika talking on the phone with a Ryo, and the conversations don't always have her usual snippiness."

Elliot wasn't quite sure what to say about this information. So, what, Rika and Ryo were dating or something? Ryo had mentioned at the party that she hated him. No, they had to simply be trading taming secrets. That had to be it. Either way, she was curious enough about her cousin's relationship with him that she would ask him about it in school tomorrow.

She finished her plate, thanked the two of them, and went up to the stairs with Gomamon in the bag at her side. She reached the landing and approached the guest room's door, which had been given to Elliot and Thomas, when she noticed Rika had just come out of her room.

Elliot hesitated, her hand on the door. Seeing Rika always brought about an unpleasant bout of memories, but she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't want a healthy relationship with her cousin. She had always thought it would be like having a sister – one who was unbelievably good at taming digimon. Elliot swallowed, wondering what to say. The other girl had her hair down for once. The straight, light auburn locks draped around her shoulders, curling up slightly at the ends. She was in her pajamas, a simple tank top and baggy pants, just like what Elliot liked to wear. But the expression on her face contrasted sharply with the innocent attire. She was staring at her cousin with hard, oddly violet-colored eyes. The cold stare was made harsher by the sharp angles of her pretty but severe face.

Both girls paused. Elliot did not know what to say that wouldn't immediately piss her off. So she went with something that would, with luck, piss her off the least. "The others, uh, missed you at the party," she said.

The comment was innocent enough, but only Rika would bristle at such a thing. "No, they didn't," she snapped. Her voice was crisp, clear, but had a harsh edge that had Elliot wincing.

"Well, Ryo did," she said, and she knew immediately that she should not have mentioned Ryo.

Rika's oddly-colored eyes narrowed and flashed. She uncrossed her arms. "No, he didn't. None of them did. I bet they asked you to join them, didn't they? You would fit right in with that pathetic group of Tamers."

"They weren't pathetic!" Before she could respond, Gomamon had stuck his furry little head out of her shoulderbag. He leaned on the rim of the fabric with both flippers hanging out. "They were super nice! You _never_ have anything nice to say."

"Gomamon," Elliot muttered. She didn't want to make Rika angrier than she already was.

Rika's response was colder than her last. "Well, I'm glad my partner isn't as weak as yours."

As Gomamon opened his mouth hotly, Elliot just sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. Rika was responding the way she always did, hiding behind her sharp tongue and insults. Part of her couldn't blame her cousin – Elliot was living in her house, now, after all. She didn't really have a right to be there. Elliot had wanted to try and make progress with her, but she knew it would not happen tonight. So she instead tried to get some information. "What's the deal with you and Ryo, anyway? Auntie said you guys talk sometimes."

Elliot watched as the heat rose her Rika's face, and she had to fight down a smile. It was oddly satisfying to know that she could still get under her cousin's skin. "That's none of your business," she snapped. "Why were _you_ talking with him at that party?"

"Oh, come on, Rika. You know we're old friends." She couldn't keep a slightly smug grin off her face now. "You remember, we were summoned to the digital world and all that?"  
The jealousy and anger in Rika's eyes could have burned a hole in Elliot's face. Elliot did not need to remind her that, when she and Ryo had been called to the digital world, that there had been other Tamers at the time as well – but they were not called. Rika had missed out on that adventure, however difficult and terrifying it was, even though she was one of the best.

And, now that Elliot was pretty sure Rika had a thing for Ryo, the idea that Elliot had gotten to spend a significant amount of time with him and shared an incredible adventure did not sit well her cousin.

Rika uttered some nastiness that not even Elliot would have repeated and stalked back into her room.

Gomamon twisted around in the bag and grinned up at her. "That was awesome! You really showed her!"

Elliot smiled, but she felt badly about it. "Well, she insulted my partner," she said, and much to Gomamon's delight, she rubbed his fuzzy head.

She opened the door. The little room did not have much furniture. When Rika's mother and grandmother had brought in an extra bed, she felt terribly about not being there to help them set it up. That bed was occupied now, and a light was on beside it. A boy sat there, reading by the bedside light. She realized that perhaps she and Rika should have been a bit quieter about their argument. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked.

"No, I was awake," he said. He had a tendency to mumble, and she had to listen closely to hear him. As she dumped the back with Gomamon on her bed, she noticed Thomas really needed a haircut; his messy dark bangs were beginning to impair his vision, and his hair stuck up in the back.

Gomamon padded out of the bag and grinned a toothy grin. "Elliot just _annihilated_ Rika. I'm so proud of her."

Thomas smiled too. "Aw, be nice to Rika. She's always so nice to us." Elliot allowed herself to laugh. Her brother had been remarkably accepting when she became a Tamer. Perhaps his age at the time had made it easier, but he had never hidden the fact that he would eventually like his own digimon too. Still, he seemed to think that being a Tamer made his already strong sister even stronger. In his eyes, she was a hero.

She would do everything she could to maintain that image for him.

When he asked, Elliot told him a little about the party as she prepared for bed. He was interested to hear about the other Tamers' digimon, even though she had just met one, and he listened when she described the Tamers she had met. He teased her about meeting boys there, as little brothers should, and asked if she'd had anything to drink.

"I had a _sip_ of alcohol, thanks," she said lightly. Thomas giggled as she got into bed and pulled the covers up. She had placed her silver digivice and her deck of modify cards on the bedside table. Gomamon padded up to her and curled beside her pillow like a cat. "Good night, Thomas."

"Night, Elliot."

Her brother switched the light off.

Elliot's mind ran through the events of the day. Her thoughts lingered on the other Tamers, as strange but fascinating as they were, and how they would try to convince her to join them next. Undoubtedly, there would be some kind of attempt tomorrow at school.

She rolled over, nuzzling her nose into Gomamon's furry side. She missed the south, where things were far less complicated.

* * *

A/N: Awww. Next time: Violence & some bad guys are introduced :(

Leave a review if you liked it!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: A digimon fight, and then some insight with Ryo. The last scene might be a little confusing, it'll be explained later :D enjoy!

* * *

"Guilmon!"

Takato moved quickly through the dusky park. His anticipation for seeing his partner had quickly turned into worry when he realized he wasn't waiting for him in his usual hiding spot. Perhaps he was too quick to jump to conclusions, but as he held his red digivice out in front of him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

He swallowed nervously, trembling from cold and worry. "Guilmon," he called again, pushing past the underbrush in the dim light. Takato had strayed from the park's path, as led by his digivice, and rosebushes and twigs clung to his clothes. The dot on his digivice grew larger. He was near – thank goodness, he couldn't wait to get out of this creepy, dark area of the park.

Even though he knew his partner was right there, he still jumped when Guilmon showed himself. "Takato!" his partner cried happily.

Takato had been cursing Guilmon's recklessness a moment before, but at the sight of his innocent reptilian face, he forgot his anger entirely. "Guilmon!" he said, and his partner happily nuzzled him with his large reddish head. "There you are – I was so worried!"

"No worries," was the wide-eyed response, and something about the incorrect use of the term made his heart swell. Takato hugged his partner, stooping slightly to reach him. "Aww, Takato. How was the party? Didn't you meet someone new?"

He straightened up, trying to reign in his emotions. He didn't know what it was about his partner that made him so sentimental. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he had created him, from his own thoughts and feelings, somehow putting together the strands of data that made up the digimon Guilmon. And despite his inability to evolve yet, Takato was very proud of him. "Yeah, I did," he said. He rubbed his partner's snout, and Guilmon leaned into the touch blissfully. "She was nice, but I'm not sure if she'll join us. We're working on it, though."  
"A lady Tamer!" Guilmon perked up, swishing his stubby tail. "Maybe her partner will play with me sometime."

Takato smiled. "I'm sure he will, buddy. Let's go back to the hideout, though, all right? Here, I brought you some snacks." He opened the bag of treats from Ryo's party. Guilmon let out a delighted little sound and reached for one. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Oh." The genuine grin that had split his partner's face morphed into a frown. "Well, I thought I sensed a digimon, but I lost it."

His blood ran cold. "A digimon? Really?" If they could find it before Rika or Ryo, maybe Guilmon could have that data all to himself… Takato clutched his digivice. "Where did you lose it?" he asked his partner.

But he froze at the look on Guilmon's face. The dinosaur digimon's innocent, sometimes dopey expression had contorted to something sinister. He had seen Guilmon like this before, when facing a difficult opponent, and it scared him every time. It was like Guilmon completely forgot he was there until the fight was over.

His partner's gaze was locked on something just over his shoulder.

As Takato nervously stepped aside, his heart leapt to his throat when a huge, dark hand snatched at his partner. Its fingers were long, curved and wicked, some tipped with red. Guilmon caught the hand in his claws, holding it away from him with all his strength. The wiry muscles in his shoulders bulged from the effort.

Takato had taken out his deck of modify cards, but at the sight of the digimon they were facing, he knew it wouldn't be an ordinary fight. He recognized the lean, humanoid figure with the angled dark wings as Devimon, and the sight was terrifying enough. He looked anxiously to his partner. Guilmon was having a difficult enough time just getting that hand away from him. Takato slashed an attack modify card, and Guilmon pushed harder, moving the wicked claw back a bit.

All right, they were gaining the upper hand. The Tamer selected another card, but without warning, Devimon cast Guilmon aside, throwing the rookie to the grass. With a wave of his large hand, Devimon emitted a wave of darkness that blew the trees back, uprooting some of the saplings – and knocking Takato backward.

He fell roughly, his back slamming into a tree, and he grunted at the pain. His deck of modify cards had fallen out of his hand and was now scattered across the grass. To make matters worse, Devimon had swooped toward his fallen partner. Great – some Tamer he was. He couldn't even hold onto his cards when his partner needed him. Ignoring the pain in his back, he reached toward the nearest one.

Perhaps Devimon saw the slight movement, because his head whipped around to look at him, and suddenly Takato was staring into sinister red eyes. He froze. The Devimon did not. With a beat of its powerful wings, the digimon glided over to him in one swift motion. Suddenly he could see nothing but the huge dark hand which reached for him – he lay there, his heart pounding painfully against his ribs, as those wicked fingers enclosed his torso. His breathing became erratic, his thoughts bouncing around wildly as he was lifted from the grass.

"Human," the evil digimon breathed in an oily voice, "you have enslaved this digimon, made him your pet. His deletion will set him free. Evocomon commands it."

"No!" Takato choked – never mind that he was in more danger than his partner at the moment. Devimon had threatened to destroy Guilmon. He couldn't let him carry out his threat, no matter what happened to him.

The Devimon narrowed his crimson eyes, gritting pointed teeth, and cast him away with a wave of his arm. The movement was trivial to the digimon, but there was still a lot of force behind it, and Takato slammed into the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of his lungs He was sprawled in the grass with a terrible pain in his side. Guilmon shouted something, and his voice sounded far away, muffled by the pounding in his ears.

He had to get up. Had to help Guilmon. Takato tried to rise, reach his modify cards, and get back to the fight. But the pain in his side was overwhelming. It was almost paralyzing, and he sank to the cold grass again. He couldn't see what was happening to his partner. What were they going to do? Devimon was going to destroy Guilmon because he couldn't get up. Tears began to sting at his eyes.

"Takato!" called a familiar voice.

Henry, he answered silently. He heard his frantic footsteps against the grass. The older boy ran to his side, and suddenly he knew he and his partner would be all right. Henry knelt beside him, and Takato met his gaze, wincing at the pain.

"Terriermon, go," he ordered the digimon on his shoulder.

"Sweet!" was the little bunny's response, and it leapt from his friend's head.

As his partner went off to fight, Henry turned his attention back to Takato. He could barely see him in the dimness. His face was strained, panic and worry clouding his gray eyes. Takato hated to see him like this, especially when he was the subject of his old friend's concern. "How bad is it?" Henry asked him. He had to be talking about his injury, and Takato had no idea. There was just a terrible pain in his ribs – he didn't know if they were bruised or broken.

Not only did he not know, he didn't really care. "Guilmon - " he stammered. He swallowed, trying to get his words together. "Is Guilmon -?"

Henry looked up at the scene beyond Takato. He could hear the sounds of a fight, and occasionally there was a flash of light from their attacks. "He's fine, Takato. He's fighting. Now tell me what hurts."

Takato winced, and gestured at his chest. "It's just my ribs, he threw me – I don't think they're broken or anything."

His friend nodded. Even with his own partner fighting, Henry was concerned only with him. It was both comforting and troubling – when someone Henry cared about was in danger, sometimes he would entirely forget Terriermon existed. His little partner would never say anything about it. Takato admired his loyalty, as though they were so in sync with each other that Terriermon understood what was going on in his head, but Takato could never do the same to Guilmon.

He helped him sit up. As Takato sat against the tree in the cold, wet grass, he saw what was going on with the battle now that Henry's partner had joined the fight. Terriermon and Guilmon had worked together to corner Devimon. They stood on either side of him, taking turns attacking when Devimon tried to strike one. It was something they had worked on during the brief taming sessions with Ryo. Since their partners were not as strong as Cyberdramon, they had to work together when their most powerful ally was absent. It was amazing to see them utilizing it so well.

Henry handed him an attack modify card. "Here," he said. "They just need a little more power to defeat him."

Takato took it, since his cards were a scattered mess and out of reach. "Thanks," he said softly – his voice came out raspy and weak.

He slashed the modify card through the slot on the side of his digivice, and Henry did the same.

Guilmon's next special attack had a bit more fire behind it as the huge ball of flame hit the Devimon in the back. As the evil digimon roared, turning to slash him, Terriermon spun into a powerful little green tornado and struck him again from behind. The Devimon stumbled, and before he hit the ground, he burst into millions of data particles.

Both rookies hesitated, unsure which of them should collect the data. They looked to their respective Tamers.

"You can have it," Henry said quietly to Takato. Takato suspected he didn't really care. Making his digimon stronger had never been much of a concern to him – Henry was a Tamer just to protect his friends.

Takato gave Guilmon a nod, and his partner extended a claw. The particles of data were absorbed into his arm like a little vortex of light, shining remnants of what had once been a living digimon.

There was a short moment of silence as the four of them took in the fact that the danger had passed. The pain in Takato's side was ebbing away. He realized he had never been in a fight that terrible before – he had never gotten hurt fighting a digimon. When did the digital world start sending them digimon like _that?_

Henry shook his head and turned to look at him. There was a scared, anxious look in his eyes, and it scared Takato a little. Henry was supposed to be stoic in the face of things like this. "Can you walk?" he said at last.

Takato told him he could, but getting to his feet was difficult, and he ended up holding onto Henry's arm as he rose. "Thanks," he said with a breathless sigh. His ribs ached dully.

Henry watched his pained movements with narrowed, concerned eyes. "I can't believe a Devimon attacked," he muttered. Terriermon joined them, leaping to his partner's shoulder. Guilmon had brought Takato's deck of modify cards, holding them carefully between his claws. The little red dinosaur nuzzled Takato gently, and he placed a comforting hand on his wide snout as he pocketed the cards. Takato was glad to see he was uninjured. "We've never faced a digimon like that before."

He shrugged, but the movement was painful. He gingerly wrapped his arms around his bruised chest. "Yeah. I don't know. We made it, though."

"But you got hurt." Henry's scowl deepened. Takato hoped his family hadn't noticed his sudden disappearance. Terriermon must have sensed an evil digimon nearby, and when they realized Guilmon was there too, they got there as fast as they could. "We need to get that girl on the team as soon as possible. This is getting out of hand."

They had begun walking back to Guilmon's hideout, their exhausted partners in tow.

Takato was surprised he had jumped to the question of getting Elliot on the team so quickly. He understood the urgency, but had thought that if they did a better job sticking together, maybe they wouldn't get attacked as often. But he wanted Elliot on the team. He also wanted Henry to talk to her. "Okay," he said, almost meekly, "you convince her in calculus tomorrow. Tell her what happened tonight. I'm sure she'll listen to you." He had begun shivering again, and he pulled his hood up.

Henry knew that the others saw him as the peacemaker, so he would assume that was the reason Takato wanted him to try to persuade Elliot. He was pretty sharp though, and if it failed to bring them closer, Takato would have to think of another way for them to interact without his old friend becoming suspicious. "Fine," he said, somewhat stiffly. Takato winced; maybe he'd figured it out already. "I'm sorry you got hurt, though. I wish I'd arrived sooner."

His arms tightened around his bruised ribs. "I'm fine, Henry. Don't worry about me. I'm just glad you got here in time to save Guilmon."

Guilmon perked up at the sound of his name. "Yeah!" he chimed in brightly. "Thanks, Terriermon!"

The little digimon on Henry's shoulder turned, his black eyes tired but proud. "No problem. I don't know what you'd do without me."

"Terriermon," Henry muttered, but there was no feeling behind the reproach.

By the time they had arrived at Guilmon's hideout, Takato had forgotten about the terrifying battle and even the dull ache in his ribs. He said good-bye to his partner, and then Henry walked him home. Takato wanted to ask his friend about some homework questions that happened to be due the next day, but he could sense that his friend didn't want to talk. It was clear he had a lot on his mind.

Takato found he wasn't as concerned with the digimon spawning as his friend, despite having been part of the worst fight the Tamers had ever faced alone. The Devimon had been a champion level – they could handle a champion. Henry just worried too much. With luck, maybe getting a new member on the team would allow him to lighten up a bit.

* * *

Ryo winced as the tube was removed from his arm. He glared at the scientist as the man in the lab coat moved away with the blood sample. Ryo blinked, fighting against nausea and lightheadedness. They had probably taken enough from him. They had to be done by now.

It was still and silent in the tiny lab room. Despite its small size, it was made even smaller by the amount of equipment they had crammed inside. Ryo didn't know half of what these machines did. He would never admit it, but they frightened him a bit. He was sure they would lead to some new development that would bring about a new slew of experiments. Ryo couldn't keep himself from jumping when the door to the tiny lab room opened and his father stepped inside. Ryo hunched his shoulders, cursing himself for being so jumpy in front of him. He had to be stronger than that. "Anything new?" his father asked the old scientist. He too wore a lab coat, but there was a pin on his lapel depicting his ranking. His hair was slicked back from his ruddy face.

There was a pause as the scientist examined his blood using various instruments. First a microscope, then some more advanced machine they had developed. Ryo thought it looked like a weird, immovable pair of binoculars. As the scientist worked, Ryo's father watched the process carefully, through narrowed, calculating eyes. He didn't once turn to check on his son, despite the fact that Ryo was trembling and trying to hold himself together.

"Actually, yes," the scientist said at last. Ryo's father moved closer, his eyes alight with interest. "There appears to be tiny strands of digital data, just like those from a digimon, in his bloodstream. His partner's, perhaps?"

Ryo's heart jolted. Cyberdramon's digital makeup was in his blood? How could that have happened? He remained still and stoic, however, as the two men discussed the developments. He just wanted to escape, perhaps into the digital world. He'd been summoned to the lab in the dead of the night, after everyone from the party had left. There was no arguing when the lab needed him – they seemed to think the Tamers had some weird connection with the digital world, and they were determined to identify what it was. At least the experiment wasn't as bad today. There was one that injected him with some weird substance he didn't understand, and as they analyzed it, he had some kind of bad reaction to it. As he began having trouble breathing, the scientists had studied these reactions, pondering over why it had this effect on him when it responded normally with a non-Tamer. Ryo had almost passed out by the time they gave him a second injection that would cancel out the first. All through the process, his father had stood by and watched.

Still, even with the pain of the experiments, it was better he go through it than any of his friends.

He straightened up as his father moved toward him. There were dark circles under his eyes and he hadn't shaved in weeks. He had the appearance of a brilliant man gone slightly to seed. "We need to examine another Tamer," he said to Ryo without emotion.

Ryo clenched his jaw. He had hoped he wouldn't say that. "I'm not bringing them to you," he snapped.

"Don't be so dramatic, Ryo. We only need one."

"_Any_ of them," he retorted. "I'm not going to let you take them as your lab rat!"

His father inclined his head. His face was set in an expression of grim finality. "Then I suppose we'll track down your partner, and use him," was the snarled response.

Ryo swallowed. He didn't know what he would do if they took Cyberdramon. He and his partner had been through so much together – it wouldn't be fair for him to give him up to this lab. He didn't know what to say. His shoulders hunched again and he turned his gaze to the tiled floor.

His father smirked. He knew he had him cornered. "Good," he said. "Decide which Tamer you want to bring us. Sooner rather than later, if you would."

"You're not gonna find out anything from them," Ryo mumbled. It hurt to picture his friends trapped here. Takato, Henry, Jeri, even Rika, though she would fight them every step of the way. And Elliot... The two of them had just gotten reacquainted with each other. They used to be best friends – Ryo couldn't drive her away again.

A short laugh. "Really? Then what is that?" He pointed to his blood sample, which was still being examined by the scientist. "I'd say there is a fair amount we can learn from just that sample. And your friends will provide more data. We just need you to bring them here." His father turned to leave. "Decide quickly, Ryo. Our research depends on it."

Both his father and the scientist left him there in the dim lab.

Ryo swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions under control. Panic, frustration, guilt – no matter what he decided, someone he cared about would have to be dragged here. He'd hoped that the scientists would be satisfied with just using him as a lab rat, but no, now they wanted more subjects. And it had left Ryo to decide on whom he would inflict these experiments.

His partner, or the other Tamers?

* * *

A/N: So the lab is like Hypnos, but Yamaki doesn't run it, Ryo's dad does, creating a lot of trouble for the Tamers. Sounds fun lol :D

Next time: It's _finally_ the next day xD and we see Elliot at school doing things and talking to people. Yay!

Please leave a review if you liked it :D


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I just realized that Rika's grandmother would be Elliot's grandmother as well. Lmao. Dammit. Fixing.

Have a chapter :D

* * *

Lunchtime. Elliot held her tray of food, looking nervously around the bustling cafeteria. Lunchtime had always been a source of anxiety for her. There were way too many people, all kids her age talking too loudly about things she didn't care about. And then there was the subject of where she would sit. At her old school in the south, she had always eaten in the library, simply for the quiet atmosphere. But much to her dismay, when she'd scoped out the library earlier, she'd discovered that students were not allowed to eat there.

So it left Elliot to find the quietest corner of the cafeteria. She walked slowly past the rows of tables, ignoring the curious, judgmental eyes from her classmates. Other girls were wearing short shorts, tank tops, and sandals, despite the cold outside. Even in the hot south, Elliot would never have dressed like that. With her flat, boyish frame, she didn't feel she had much to show off anyway. She knew she didn't have a lot of money, but still felt she could put together a decent outfit, so she wore her usual leggings, boots, and longish plaid shirt in the hopes that she would blend right in.

Looking around at these girls, she couldn't have been more wrong. Oh well. She wasn't going to change her style just to look like them.

All she had to do was get through today, then she could begin her job hunt. She settled into an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria. It was right beside a large window, and she could see the suburbs and the city beyond. It was a nice view, although she had to admit that the scenery in Mississippi was more impressive. Her hometown of Monticello had been enclosed by fields and forests, and Halls Creek ran close by. She found there was no point being wistful, though. Especially not when she was this hungry. Elliot reached for her burger.

She had just brought it to her mouth when someone set a tray loudly beside her, and then a backpack beside it. "Hi!" Jeri said brightly. She settled in beside her without commenting on her odd choice of seating.

"Hello," she said slowly. What, was Jeri going to eat with her? Weren't the other Tamers going to miss her?

Jeri grinned, turning her cheery face toward her, and Elliot was once again reacquainted with those fine, delicate features of her youthful face. She was wearing minimal makeup, but what she had applied was done in a professional, flattering manner – the single, elegant stroke of liquid eyeliner, the subtle mascara. Elliot didn't like to bother with makeup. She never felt she could apply it correctly. "I think I was a little too drunk when we met. I'm sorry about that. Mind if we start again? I'm Jeri Coburn. It's so nice to meet you!"

She had extended a hand. Despite herself, Elliot was smiling too as she shook it. There was something about Jeri that brightened up an atmosphere, no matter how uneasy those within it had been feeling.

"Elliot Alexander," she said. Her stomach rumbled. She really wanted to begin eating, but she wasn't sure if Jeri was done talking, and she'd hate to be rude to someone who had taken time out of her lunch break to eat with her.

"Yeah, I can't believe how drunk I got." She let out a short, tinkling laugh. "Henry was not happy. It's fun to irk him, though. He's too serious sometimes." Jeri turned her bright, light brown eyes to her. Elliot found it hard to keep eye contact with someone so genuine and happy. "What did you think, though? Of us? Everyone's wondering about you, you know. You're interesting. A mystery." She laughed again, and Elliot smiled hesitantly, unsure if she was being serious.

"Uh, well." Elliot swallowed, wondering what to say. The Tamers were wondering about her, were they? Why? Just because she was one of them? "You all seemed really nice. I don't know. It was great seeing Ryo again, though." She nervously met her gaze, wondering if that had been an appropriate answer.

But Jeri was not deterred. "Oh yeah! You guys knew each other! How did you meet? Did you live here with Rika before?" She fired off her questions with as much enthusiasm as she had at the start of the conversation.

Her heart began to pound. "Er, no," she muttered. "We met in...in the digital world." Unpleasant memories had begun to prod at her. She didn't like to talk about her time in the digital world.

Jeri, however, did not sense her unease. "Wow – I can't believe you've been there! It must have been amazing. Leomon says it's really dangerous, though, but I bet I'd be fine."

Elliot forced a smile. Jeri really had no idea how terrible the other world could be. She hoped she would never have to find out. At the same time, this was the first Elliot had heard of Jeri's partner, and she couldn't help being impressed. "Wow, you're partnered to a Leomon? That's awesome." She privately hoped that the compliment toward her partner would shift the conversation away from the digital world.

Jeri grinned and drew herself up proudly. "Oh yes. Thank you. He's something, all right." She absently straightened her dress. Elliot eyed the sunny pattern, wondering if the other girl wore only dresses. She had been wearing one at the party last night, too. "So, how did you get to the digital world?"

She winced. Damn, she hadn't been distracted. Elliot supposed she could tell her some things – it wasn't like she had to hear the whole story. "Well, Gomamon summoned me," she said, "because we were meant to be partners. So I went there to find him." It wasn't the complete truth. Elliot had arrived in the digital world alone and terrified and only fourteen. She hadn't had any idea what a digimon was.

"That's crazy! When did you meet Ryo, then?"

"He helped me find Gomamon," she said shortly. Ryo had shown up after Elliot had been terrorized by the local digimon. She would have died without him.

Her heart jolted when someone sat heavily beside her – she turned sharply, expecting to see Takato or Henry, as she was sure they would show up to eat with Jeri. Instead, she looked up into a pair of dark eyes of someone she had briefly met the night before. He sat on the bench backwards, his large but athletic frame contrasting sharply with hers. "Hey, I was hoping I'd see you again," the dark-haired boy said to her.

"Um. Hello." She bit her lip nervously. Jeri had fallen silent beside her.

The boy gave her that same crooked smile. "I'm Lucas. I didn't catch your name when you were in a hurry to leave the party last night."

"It's Elliot," she said. She found his gaze very intimidating. Her brain was working slowly, fighting to understand why this good-looking and probably very popular boy had chosen to speak with her.

"Elliot," he repeated. His grin turned mischievous. "I'm pretty sure that's a guy's name."

She withheld a sigh. Well, she already had a boyish figure – may as well have a boy's name to appropriately confuse people. It had never really bothered her, though. Her mother had carefully selected her name, and Elliot was as proud of it as she had been.

There was still a matter of a response, and Elliot had none. She felt the heat rise to her face as she simply shrugged.

The boy named Lucas let out a little laugh, turning his gaze to the tiled cafeteria floor. He had a bit of dark stubble lining his jaw line, she noticed, and he looked somewhat older than her. "All right, you seem a little shy. That's all right. I can get you to talk to me."

Elliot frowned, giving him a hesitant smile. She thought vaguely that the context of what he had just said sounded all wrong. Before she could work it out, however, he had leaned closer, and she was suddenly familiar with his taste in aftershave. It smelled good, but she knew it was a standard spray that most guys their age used.

She had frozen.

Lucas's smile had turned into a smirk, as though he was well aware of the effect he had on her. "How about going out with me next Tuesday? I'll make sure you have a good time."

Though the words were unsettling to her, all her brain could focus on was the fact that this boy had just asked her out. She didn't have much of a romantic history. When society had dictated she was old enough to date, Elliot had already started working, allowing little time for distractions. The closest she had ever gotten to an actual relationship was when she was eight, and a boy had told her he liked her. She didn't really understand it at the time – everyone liked her. She was already one of the guys, playing sports with them in the dirt and participating in whatever adventure they had concocted. In the end, she had simply thanked the boy. It wasn't one of her finer moments.

But Elliot knew this was very different. She may not have ever dated before, but she was interested, if only for the experience of doing so. She had to start somewhere, after all.

She agreed, injecting enthusiasm into her voice, and Lucas seemed pretty happy. They talked until Lucas had to rejoin his football buddies. With the reminder of their date, he left her there.

Elliot turned back toward her lunch. She still hadn't touched it.

"Wow," Jeri said. Elliot twitched slightly – she had almost forgotten she was beside her. "Dang. Nice job." She nudged her teasingly, and Elliot grinned. Her heart was still pounding. "Maybe you guys can go on a double date with my boyfriend and me. That'd be really cute."

Elliot couldn't imagine her relationship with Lucas going that far, but she entertained the thought. "Oh, you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes!" Jeri's grin widened. "We haven't been dating that long, just like a week, but he's really nice. I haven't told my guys yet, though."

"Your guys?" she repeated, and realized too late whom she was talking about.

Jeri nodded, a pleasant smile upon her face. "Takato and Henry," she said. "My guys. We grew up together, you know, so they're kinda protective of me. I don't know how they'll react to Dennis." Her gaze slid out of focus, and she was suddenly off in her own little world, as though imagining that scenario.

Elliot had noticed Takato and Henry carefully watching her alcohol intake at that party, keeping an eye out for her and wherever she had wandered off to. The three of them must have been very close – it had been almost sweet, watching them interact. Elliot turned away. She had been alone most of her life, dedicating her time to giving her brother a better future. Ryo had been her first real friend, but they weren't as close anymore. She found herself wishing for a friendship like the one Jeri and her guys had.

She forced it out of her mind, turning to her food at last. They only wanted to be her friend because she was a Tamer. Oh well. At least she had a date to look forward to.

* * *

Henry approached his fifth-period calculus class five minutes early, as usual. His previous class was right around the corner, and he was usually the first of his class to arrive. He would spend the time reviewing notes or discussing math problems with his other mathematically apt classmates.

This time, however, he had a job to do. Takato and Jeri had agreed that he would be the best choice when it came to convincing Elliot to join them. Takato was too shy to be persuading, and Jeri would probably get distracted. Henry knew he had the right social skills to convince her. Still, he wasn't so sure he could do it. Elliot had appeared fiercely independent, and during his brief time with her, she would sometimes say things that would throw him off guard. His picture of her wasn't yet very positive – he found her frustrating more than anything else.

With luck, after this conversation, he would have a better picture of who she was.

Henry rounded the corner of the hallway. His class would be right across the hall. He paused, however, when he recognized the two people talking outside. It was Elliot and Ryo, speaking happily and affectionately. He watched them, an odd feeling in his chest. It had become painfully obvious how close they were now. Henry withheld a sigh. He would never understand her.

Elliot and Ryo ended their conversation with a warm hug, and then they parted, Elliot slipping inside the classroom and Ryo disappearing down the opposite hall. It seemed that only the digital world could bring two very different people together, he thought as he followed her through the doorway.

Their math classroom was sparsely furnished with desks, as not many people could take the class. The windows on one wall allowed a fresh stream of light in, which gave the classroom a warm, open hue. Elliot had chosen a seat near the front of the class, just like he would have. She still wore a smile on her face. As she placed her backpack on the desk and began to shuffle through it, Henry took the seat beside her, smiling as he pulled the chair out. "Hi, Elliot," he said carefully.

The Tamer's face had pulled into something like a frown as she took him in. "Oh, hello," she said in her distinctive Mississippi drawl, just as guardedly. To her credit, she didn't change seats. She simply sat at her desk, and Henry did the same.

He didn't waste any time. Their teacher and the rest of the class would arrive soon. He folded his hands neatly and turned to face her. "I'm sorry for how I acted last night," he told her quietly. A student walked past them, taking her own seat near the opposite wall. "Maybe it was wrong of me to ask something like that of you when you barely knew us."

Elliot's eyebrows had risen, and she sent him a quick glance before returning to her notes. Henry took that to mean she hadn't been expecting an apology. "It's...all right," she said slowly. She was eyeing his backpack, and he thought for a moment it was because she refused to meet his gaze, but then she said: "Can I have a look at your notes for problem five?"

"Ah…sure." He brought out his carefully organized notebook and flipped to the correct page. As he watched her examine his loopy, cursive handwriting, he noticed for the first time the similarities to her cousin in her face. She had the same sharp, angled features - high cheekbones and a keen jaw line - but she had none of Rika's severity. Her blue eyes made her whole face softer. Last night she had worn her hair down, without styling it at all, but today she had braided it. The long brown locks of plaited hair were draped over her shoulder, shiny and healthy.

She scrunched her mouth up to the side and let out a frustrated noise. "I can't get this problem right," she grumbled, but her voice was soft, and she looked at him hesitantly.

"Let me take a look," he said. He reached for her notebook, and she edged away from his hand, watching him carefully. Even with worry nagging in the back of his mind, he found her point of issue quickly. "That's because the derivative of tangent x is secant squared, not secant tangent."

Elliot pulled her notebook back and hastily erased her work, muttering and scowling. "Dammit. I always get that mixed up."

He winced at the curse, but chose not to nitpick. She already didn't like him. "Otherwise, you knew what you were doing," he said lightly. "You're pretty good at this stuff."

She just shrugged. "School isn't really my thing," she muttered as she corrected the problem. "I'm away from Gomamon. And Thomas." Her mouth snapped shut, as though afraid she had said too much.

Henry frowned at her. He had thought, from her dedication to correcting a rather trivial math problem, that she was as focused on her studies as he was. What, so she had tested into and taken this college-level course for the fun of it? And her partner was probably hanging out on the roof of the school with Terriermon, exchanging stories and gossip regarding their human counterparts. She would see him as soon as school was out.

As for the mention of her brother, well, he could understand that. He had a strong bond with each of his siblings, particularly the youngest, Suzy. Finally, something he could relate to.

"You're really close to your brother, aren't you?" he asked.

She shot him a quick look. Suddenly Henry was staring into very blue, frosty eyes that cut through him, as though seeing more than she let on. He fought to keep his composure. "Of course," she said.

He swallowed. He had almost forgot where he was going with this. "I get that," he said, trying to keep his voice gentle. "I'm the same way with my younger brother and sisters. I look out for them."

Something in her eyes softened, and she looked away, the beginnings of a smile working at the corners of her mouth. Henry allowed himself to relax. Now that she had dropped some of her walls, he could try and get to the point.

"Suzy – my little sister – she was with me one time, when a digimon attacked," he said carefully.

Both smiles had suddenly disappeared. She sent him a quick glance, and he saw the familiar worry in her eyes when a loved one was threatened. They were very much creatures of family, she and him. They had that much in common, at least.

"She was all right – Terriermon protected us. But, look," he continued, making his voice sound regretful and apologetic, "this is why we need you on the team. Evil digimon – stronger digimon – are spawning wherever we are, like they're tracking us. They're appearing more frequently, and it's becoming very dangerous." Elliot's frown deepened, and she listened closely to his words. "Takato was attacked by a Devimon last night."

Those same azure eyes flashed, and worry crossed her previously cautious expression. "He was?" she hissed. "Is he okay?" Her voice had turned frantic, even though she barely knew Takato. Henry couldn't help wondering if she would react the same way if _he_ had been attacked.

"He was a little beat up, but he's okay," he said. "But perhaps now you can see why we need you. These digimon are becoming relentless. I don't want to see anyone get hurt."

Elliot's frown had returned, and she stared at a spot on her desk, apparently deep in thought. "They can't be," she said. Henry blinked at her, wondering what she was talking about. "These digimon can't be growing stronger, or spawning more, or whatever. They aren't forming some kind of militia against you."

"I don't think -" he began hotly, but Elliot cut him off.

"It's impossible. It's a coincidence what's happening now. They can't be regaining power because Ryo and I took care of the threat four years ago. I don't know what's going on with the digimon now, but if it's only champion-levels you're facing, I'm sure you can handle it. You don't need me for that."

Henry stared at her as she finished her little rant. She had gone from timid and shy to fierce and confident as the conversation took a turn toward the subject of digimon. Apparently there were some things she felt strongly about. But she had taken him off guard once again. He had thought that, with the subject of their siblings' safety in question, she would agree that action needed to be taken and join them. He couldn't have been more wrong. Vaguely he felt himself growing annoyed, but he didn't let it show. He was known for being calm, pleasant, and composed – it wouldn't do any good to lose his temper with her now.

"Um, Henry?"

He turned sharply, and the girl standing beside his desk almost recoiled at his exasperated expression. Henry fought to rearrange his face. Though she looked hurt, uncertain, and a little scared, the blond girl still went ahead with her question. He had known her forever – they had never been close, but they had grown up together, and he knew her name was Melissa. His stomach clenched as guilt rocked him; he hated that he was the subject of her anxiety. "I…I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight."

She said the words very quickly, and rather quietly. Henry's heart sank. He knew his answer, but he didn't want to say it in front of most of the class – especially not in front of Elliot. He swallowed hard, cursing his luck. He wished there was a way for him to respond without any feelings being hurt.

"I'm sorry," he said, as gently as he could, "I can't."

Melissa seemed to understand that he didn't mean he simply couldn't make it that night. Her mouth closed, and she nodded once, her face drawn. With her textbooks close to her chest, she slipped away.

Henry's heart was pounding. That had been excruciating. He knew he had just destroyed that girl's hopes. Maybe he could explain to her later why he had sworn off dating for a while, but he couldn't see himself revealing that much of his secrets. He faced forward, toward the blackboard, and noticed Elliot watching him out of the corner of his eye. Her expression was unreadable.

She spoke suddenly, and he hastened to pay attention. "I wanted to ask that digimon-related question I almost asked last night."

Elliot had said the words as though nothing had just happened. He felt vaguely that she was making fun of him. Henry grit his teeth, wishing that their conversation had been more in his favor, but at the same time his interest was piqued. "All right," he said, and his voice was still shaking from that uncomfortable encounter.  
"The digimon who attacked me yesterday was a virus-type. Do you guys get a lot of virus-type digimon attacks?"

Their instructor had walked in. He'd have to answer this quickly. "Yes, we do," he said, and narrowed his eyes. "Why? They tend to be the most aggressive, so it would make sense for them to spawn more frequently and attack."

Elliot didn't answer. Their teacher began speaking, and Henry forced himself to pay attention. But the unanswered question nagged at him, especially when he was someone who enjoyed pursuing knowledge and information. Having data out of his reach annoyed him more than he could explain. Throughout the lecture, he found his thoughts wandering, a rather uncharacteristic thing for him to do. First he tried to work out the meaning behind her question, and then he wondered why Elliot was so weary of him, not to mention the way she had become almost angry when faced with the possibility of the wild digimon regaining power.

By the time the lecture was over, Elliot had left before he could ask her anything else.

* * *

A/N: I should just call this chapter "Elliot talks awkwardly with boys." Lol.

Next time: Elliot goes to look for a job and ends up applying at the bakery run by Takato's parents.

Leave a review if you liked it :D


	5. Chapter 5

"Elliot!"

Ryo hurried up to her side as she paused to wait for him on the sidewalk. Both of them wore huge, friendly smiles. She had just seen him at school the previous day, but still she hugged him tightly. Since their separation, every time she saw him she was just as happy, and she knew that he felt the same.

They parted, and Ryo smiled down at her. "What are you doing out here by yourself? You're a long way from your house, you know."

She grinned, trying to find her words, as Gomamon stuck his furry little head out of her shoulder bag. "Hey! She's not alone!" he said brightly.

"Gomamon," she muttered, but still she smiled as Ryo stroked her partner. The little furry seal grinned his approval before disappearing into the bag again. It was late in the afternoon, and there were a few people out and about, walking hurriedly through the city on this cold day, but none were paying attention to them. A dark swoop in the sky above them caught her attention, and she turned and smiled at the humanoid, four-winged dragon resting high on the roof of the nearest building. "Hi, Cyberdramon!" she called, and the digimon bowed his head. "I'm looking for a job, Ryo."

"Oh." A frown crossed his handsome, tanned face. He had styled his hair into its usual upward swoop. Though she didn't like it much when guys spent more time on their hair than she did, it did look good on him. "Weren't you doing that yesterday?"

She withheld a sigh. "Yes, but no one would hire me. They seemed to think my accent would scare off customers." Elliot could not forget the way the store owners had greeted her warmly, only to suddenly lose their smiles when she opened her mouth. It was another reason she so missed the south – it was a very tight knit community, her little hometown, and though she had some memories from Monticello she would very much like to forget, one couldn't doubt the closeness of the people living there.

"Aw, they just don't understand how pretty it is. They ought to be pleased to have a cute southern belle working for them." He mussed her hair like a proud older brother, and though she hissed and protested, the praise had her beaming. Few people could affect her emotions like Ryo. "But, look, I think I saw this great place that was hiring. I'll take you there. Walk with me?" He smiled his perfect smile, and it lit up his whole face.

"Okay," she said, and happily strode beside him as they walked further into the city.

Ryo walked with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed more casually today, but no matter what he seemed to wear, it almost always looked nice on him. She hadn't realized since the day it happened how much their separation had worn on her, and clearly it had not been easy for Ryo, either. If she was Thomas' hero, Ryo was hers. He was her best friend, unbreakable and brave, and she couldn't forget all he had done for her in the digital world. It was clear he had something on his mind, however – they hadn't been apart long enough for her to forget his moods and mannerisms.

But she had a question for him first. "Soo, you know where Rika's house is, huh?" she said, and she grinned teasingly.

Ryo let out a short laugh. "Yes, but we don't hang out there. I think she's embarrassed by me." He pulled a mockingly sad face, and she laughed too. "I see you've figured out our silly little secret."

"So you are dating." Some of the amusement had left her tone.

He sent her a quick glance, and she caught concern in his blue eyes. "Sort of. In secret. Yes." He watched her carefully. "Why, do you mind? Maybe I should have talked with you first, but we kind of weren't..." His words trailed off. Elliot knew exactly what he was going to say. They hadn't been speaking for years, and there had been a very good reason for it.

"I know," she said softly. She met his gaze. "I guess it's kind of weird, but...you seem really happy. And believe it or not, she's been somewhat less nasty. So maybe you're good for her." She spoke sincerely, but she thought privately that Ryo could have that effect on anybody. Perhaps, though, Rika needed it most of all.

He wore a wistful smile. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I'm glad you're being reasonable about it. I was a little worried," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I guess, though, I should ask you to keep it secret. People won't want to know that mean old Rika actually has a heart." He sent her a wry glance, and Elliot grinned.

"All right. I won't tell anyone." She would give it a lot more thought, however. She couldn't help thinking that they were badly matched, and given what Elliot knew about each Tamers' history, she wasn't sure which of them she was more worried about.

Ryo saw the opportunity to change the subject, and he did so before she could intervene. "Do you have a date for homecoming?" he asked innocently, but there was a teasing smirk on his face.

She barked out a laugh. "Why, are you taking me?" Elliot grinned up at him.

"I would, but I want to see if I can get Rika to go. I'd love to see her get dressed up for me." A vacant look crossed his expression, and Elliot was grateful when she thought of something to say relating to the subject of homecoming.

"Actually, I might have a date," she said. Her stomach fluttered at the memory. "A boy kinda asked me out yesterday." She watched his expression carefully. She had never really spoken to him about boys before.

But he smiled his perfect smile and said genuinely, "Aw, Elliot, that's great! I'm so happy for you." There was a short pause as she blushed, but he didn't notice, mulling over the news with a vague grin and his hands in his pockets. "What's his name? I might know him."

She had to think about it; it was embarrassing to admit she had forgotten the name of the first guy who had asked her out. But it came to her after a moment. "Lucas," she said.

Ryo repeated the name under his breath and frowned, and Elliot tensed instinctively at the worry on his expression. "Can you describe him?"

Elliot told him what she remembered, mentioning his dark hair and broad, athletic build. His frown deepened, and her heart clenched, wondering what was the matter. "That sounds like the Lucas from my football team," he said slowly.

"Well, he had looked like he played football," she said carefully. Elliot didn't know why that was of such importance, so she said nothing, simply watching him.

He swallowed. "Tell me if he does anything, or tries anything, all right?"

He sent her a glance that sent a shiver up her spine. She knew he was very serious about this. "Okay," she said hesitantly, wondering why he would say such a thing.

The warmth returned to his voice in an instant. "But, if all else fails, you can just go and hang out with the other Tamers at the dance, I suppose. And myself."

In truth, Elliot would be most at ease having Ryo for a date. But their relationship was complicated sometimes, and Elliot didn't want to endanger it by asking him to take her to a dance meant for a couple. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea, even though he ought to know better by then. Actually, she would much prefer to not go at all. School dances certainly were not her thing – they seemed like an awful lot of work for a memory that wouldn't mean a whole lot in the future. And she didn't know how to dance.

Ryo was speaking again, snapping her out of her cynical thoughts. "Speaking of the other Tamers," he continued, and he grinned at the exasperation on her face, "I heard they've been trying hard to recruit you."

"Ugh." Elliot shook her head. "They won't leave me alone! I mean, I guess they're really nice, but I don't know that I want to join them. Takato reminds me a bit of Thomas, and Jeri is wonderful. Henry..." Her words trailed off. She had a pretty negative image of the oldest Tamer.

Her friend spoke gently. "They're good people, Elliot. Things are getting worse in the digital plane. They could protect you." She fell silent, mulling over his words. So Ryo was aware of the danger as well. "And be nice to Henry. He's a good guy."

Elliot wasn't sure if she meant it as a joke, but her face hardened. "So you're saying I should join them," she said softly.

"You should do whatever you want. But I'd feel better about this whole thing if I knew you had friends who would protect you."

She swallowed several times, fighting the unexpected fear that arose in the back of her mind. "Ryo," she said, and she reached for his arm, as though she couldn't say her next words without his support. "I just – I don't want to be a soldier again." Her voice broke.

Ryo met her gaze, and she knew he completely understood. For a long time, that was what the two of them had been – soldiers in a digital war, fighting to bring peace to both worlds. It had been terrifying, jarring, and sometimes unimaginable. The things the two of them went through would stick with them for their lifetimes. But, then again, so would their friendship.

He gently removed her hand from his arm, and instead squeezed it in his palm. "I know. I get it. And I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from some of the things that happened." She blinked back tears, suddenly so thankful she had a friend like him. "But, Elliot, the fact is, you are a Tamer. There will always be digimon who hate that we have partners, and they will try to separate us through any means necessary. I know you won't give up Gomamon for anything, but being a Tamer comes with a price, and you have to defend yourself, and your partner."

They had stopped walking. Elliot looked up at him, overwhelmed and emotional.

"So think about it, all right? Please. For me." He smiled, but there was a sadness to it this time.

She nodded quickly, fighting tears. "Yes. Okay. I will," she said quietly. Damn it, she hated crying, especially out in public like this. But Ryo was perhaps the only person who had ever seen her cry.

"Thank you, Elliot." He looked past her, and smiled more genuinely. "Oh, look. We're here."

Elliot turned. They had arrived at a tiny, cute shop, and by the looks of the rows of bread and pastries inside, it was a bakery. And a cheery Japanese boy was inside, manning the register and attending to a line of customers. They filed out of the store one at a time with their goods in a paper bag marked with the store logo. Had it been anyone else who brought her here, she would have been very annoyed, but since it was Ryo she just laughed, despite everything.

He mussed her hair again. "Look, you don't have to do anything but apply, okay? Later, if you're feeling more comfortable with them, you can talk about joining them. All right?"

He still held her hand. She adjusted her grip so she could give him a reassuring squeeze this time. "Okay. And I _will_ think about it. I promise." She smiled up at him.

"I know you will, Ellie. Thanks for being understanding about it, by the way. You didn't put up as much of a fight as Rika did." He shook his head, bemused. Was that exasperation or admiration she saw in his eyes? Either way, it didn't matter much to her. Ryo was trying to protect both of the girls who mattered most to him, however different they might have been, and she loved him for it.

They said good-bye, and Ryo promised he would spend more time with her at school on Monday. Then he left, and Elliot watched him leave, a wistful feeling tugging at her heart. She missed him already.

"So, you'll listen to him, right?" Gomamon piped up from the depths of the shoulder bag

She sighed. "Yes, Gomamon," she murmured. She knew that her partner wanted her to go in there and declare herself a member of their team, but she wasn't quite ready for that. Still, she was so grateful for Ryo and what she knew he would do for her.

Setting her feelings aside, she pushed open the glass door to the bakery.

As the last customer stepped away from the register, Takato greeted her warmly, but he didn't initially recognize her. "Welcome! We're having a sale tod -" Takato's words broke off with an excited gasp. "Oh – Elliot! I didn't expect to see you!"

Elliot smiled at him as he walked away from the register, along the counter to get closer to her. She could tell, however, that he was in a fair amount of pain whenever he moved, and when he was in better light, she saw his right eye was smudged with a bruise. The smile slipped off her face. "Takato," she said softly, "I'm sorry – I heard you were attacked, but I didn't know it had been so -" Her words broke off. God, the Tamers really did need her, didn't they? "Bad," she finished lamely.

He blinked at her. "Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She looked at him uncertainly, unsure if it was just male bravado driving his words, or if he was hurting more than he let on. "Really," he added with a laugh. "Henry showed up to help me, and our partners defeated the digimon. Guilmon did great." He drew himself up proudly.

Elliot forced a smile. She barely knew Takato, but she felt oddly protective of him. Perhaps it was because he reminded her so much of Thomas. "If you say so," she said gently.

The bright grin returned to his face. "Anyway, it's great to see you here! What were you looking for? We have a great selection today, and a sale going on."

She was about to answer, but Gomamon chose that moment to pop his head out of the bag. "She wants to work here," he said brightly.

Elliot rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his fuzzy little head, but Takato beamed. "Really? That's awesome! We've been looking for help."

She and her partner watched him walk back to the register to retrieve something beneath it, and she winced at the pain he clearly was in. She wished he would sit down or something. But still he returned, just as happy as ever, and slid the application over to her with a pen beside it. "I'm sure you'll be allowed to work here, but my parents will look over your application and stuff. Uh, I guess I have to ask – do you have any experience working in a bakery or somewhere similar?"

"I used to work fast food," she said. "A lot of that, actually. And I know how to make bread, if need be."

"She's perfect, right?" Gomamon chimed in, and Elliot made an exasperated but amused sound, scratching him behind his ears.

Takato grinned. "Sounds like it. Oh, I have to ask about your transportation – sometimes we have limited parking outside."

"Uh, well, I don't really have a car right now," she admitted, shifting uncomfortably.

He stared. "You walked all the way here?"

"Hey, I have my license," she said defensively. "And Rika's family has a spare truck, but it's a stick shift, and I don't know how to drive one."

Takato sighed and drummed his fingers against the counter. "Well, you're not walking here every day. My parents will have none of it. Trust me."

She swallowed her annoyance. "All right. Fine. Do you know anyone who can teach me to drive a stick?"

The younger boy thought for a moment, rubbing his chin with his hand. Then his eyes brightened. "Yes!" he said, and Elliot raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm. "Henry does. Ask him. He'll teach you."

He said it with too much fervor for her liking, and Elliot couldn't imagine why he wanted her to speak with Henry so badly. But still she appreciated it. Even if Henry wasn't one of her favorite people at the moment, she definitely did need to learn how to drive that damned truck. "Okay," she said, and Takato smiled earnestly. "I'll ask him next time I get the chance."

"Great!" Takato smiled, and almost absently, he leaned against the counter. But he winced and drew back as the edge nudged his apparently bruised ribs. He looked up at her as though hoping she hadn't noticed.

Elliot's heart clenched with sympathy for him, and she clenched her jaw. "Takato...are you sure you're doing all right after that battle?"

He nodded quickly and forced a smile. "Yep! It wasn't really that bad, Elliot. He just kind of threw me around a bit, and yeah it hurt, but it's getting better. I'm a Tamer, so it comes with the job, right?" He grinned bravely, but Elliot could see his eyes were watering.

"I suppose," she said softly. God damn it, what was she doing, ignoring danger like this when people as sweet as Takato were being attacked? She had to join them. With her experience in the digital world, it was the right thing to do. They needed her.

She opened her mouth to declare it, but Takato spoke first. "That Devimon did say something odd, though," he said, and Elliot blinked at him, inviting him to continue. "He mentioned a digimon who sounded like he was in charge of the whole thing. Evocomon, I think the name was."

Shock enclosed her heart, and suddenly her vocal cords were frozen with terror she could not explain. Elliot could not meet his gaze as she wrestled with this fear, fighting off terrible memories and wishing Ryo was there beside her. He would understand; he could sort it out. But the memories distracted her from the present danger – Evocomon was returning to power.

Takato stared at her, and Gomamon sent her a nervous glance. "Um, Elliot?" the other Tamer said nervously. "Are – are you okay?"

A door slammed in some part of the store she couldn't see, and a harried-looking Japanese woman strode through, wearing an apron and a strict expression. Gomamon disappeared into the bag; Takato turned toward her quickly, and Elliot was very grateful for the distraction.

The older woman paused, wiping her hands with a towel and eyeing her up and down.

"Ah, Elliot, this is my mom," Takato said. "Mom, this is Elliot, a friend from school. She wanted to work here."

"It's very nice to meet you," Elliot said. Now that she had something else to focus on, it was easy to keep her voice steady, though the fear lingered in the back of her mind.

Takato's mother wore her hair in a short, sheer bob, and wore dirtied work clothes. She gave her a curt nod, and said bluntly, "Are you his girlfriend?"

"Mom!" Takato cried. He had gone red about the ears.

Elliot laughed at the question, but there was no amusement in the older woman's eyes. "No, ma'am, I'm not."

"Ah, well." She began wiping down the counters. "He would benefit from a nice southern girl like you. All he does is stay upstairs drawing his silly comics."

"_Mom,_" Takato repeated, but there was more hurt to his tone this time. Elliot's stomach twisted uncomfortably. She knew exactly how he felt, and she looked at his mother with a carefully neutral gaze. She wanted so dearly to say something.

But his mother spoke quickly and sharply, asking her questions about her experience and previous jobs. Though she was privately seething, Elliot answered her odd little interview with crisp, practiced responses, and she was pretty proud of herself.

When it was over, Takato's mother gave another one of her curt little nods, and said tonelessly, "All right. You are hired. I see you are quite qualified, unlike my boy here, who hasn't started applying to any colleges yet." She gave him a sharp glare. He hunched his shoulders and looked away. "You'll start Monday next."

And then she left, bustling through the doorway as quickly as she came, leaving Takato and Elliot alone in the store.

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry about that," he said at last. "She can be a bit..." His words trailed off.

Elliot swallowed. It wouldn't do any good to try and sympathize – he wouldn't want to appear weak, especially in front of a girl he barely knew. She understood that rather well, too. She didn't have what it took to fix the problem between him and his mother, but maybe she could make him feel better for the time being. "Takato, I'd like to see your comics sometime," she said. It was along the lines of what she wished someone had said to her when she was younger.

Takato looked up at her, his eyes brightening. "Really? I mean, it's a lot of superhero stuff, I don't know if a girl would really be interested in -"

But she shook her head. "No. That's fine. I like stuff like that. Show me at some point, all right? I bet they're wonderful."

Takato nodded earnestly, and rattled on for a while about the characters in the comic, original superheroes he had created. She listened, glad she had made him feel better after his mother's cruel words. No one should be spoken to like that, so disparagingly, especially to one's own child. His self-esteem was probably about as low as hers.

Elliot allowed him to talk, feeling privately that perhaps he needed it. But she did have to get back to Rika's for dinner. Finding an opening in the conversation, she used it to see herself out with the promise that she would see Takato at school on Monday.

* * *

Takato watched her leave. He hadn't counted on the unexpected happiness her words would bring, but he was so glad she spoke up. He would be so happy once she was finally on the team.

His heart leapt when he saw Jeri outside, and as Elliot left the store, the two girls exchanged friendly, happy greetings. He smiled to himself. Elliot got along well with Jeri, which wasn't really surprising – everyone did. But he was so glad Elliot could talk easily with most of them. It seemed it was only Henry she had a problem with. With luck, maybe this little driving lesson would help with that.

Jeri entered the store, and Takato beamed at her, happy she was visiting him on a Saturday. "Hey, Jeri," he said, and he felt the heat rising to his face. Prayed she wouldn't notice.

The girl smiled at him, sincere as ever, and reached for a shopping bag beside the front door. Underneath her long overcoat, she wore a dress, as usual, and she had her hair in a ponytail. "Hi, Takato! I can't believe I just saw Elliot now – small world, right?"

"She wanted to work here. My mom actually just gave her the job." He grinned at the thought, happy he would be seeing more of the mysterious new Tamer.

"Oh, that's wonderful." She stepped closer to him, but frowned when she met his gaze. Worry crossed her delicate features and she strode quickly up to the counter; Takato tensed behind the register. "_Takato!_" she hissed, and he flinched at the vehemence in her tone. "You have a black eye!"

"Oh." He forced a laugh. Jeri's sudden attack was making him very uncomfortable. "Well, yeah. It's not that big a deal, though." Somehow, he knew he would have a much harder time trying to convince her rather than Elliot.

She narrowed her eyes, but there was concern there now, instead of anger. Jeri bit her lip. The gesture made her look small and scared. "That's not just from the digimon fight, is it? Is...is that guy still bothering you?" she asked, so softly he almost didn't hear her.

Takato froze. The smile was wiped off his face. How did she know about that? The only person who knew he was bullied at school was Henry – had he told her? Anger at his oldest friend arose in the back of his mind. He'd have some choice words for Henry, that was for damned sure. The humiliation of his crush knowing he was being picked on was almost too much to bear.

A blush rose to his cheeks, uncontrolled now. His throat had tightened.

"Takato, I'm sorry," Jeri said quickly, shocked at the look on his face. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I just worry. Henry's worried, too. We don't want you to get hurt."

He forced himself to speak. At least she did not know who it was who bullied him. "It's my problem, all right? I'll deal with it."

Jeri just looked at him sadly, and he hated her pity – and that she knew him so well. Both were well aware that his version of dealing with the problem entailed pleading or bribing. Nothing would ever be solved.

She swallowed, and stepped up to the counter, placing a hand on his. His heart raced at her cool touch and he fought to keep his expression neutral. "I just don't think you deserve that. But it's all right if you don't want to talk about it," she added quickly. She probably just couldn't stand him looking so hopeless. Holding his hand wasn't helping much, either. She had no idea of the effect she could have on him.

He had no idea what to say. He just nodded.

Jeri smiled more sincerely, and withdrew her hand. She leaned her elbows on the counter and cupped her chin in her palm. Now she looked much more like her usual self. "All right, enough of that talk. Tell me stuff."

Takato blinked at her. He would certainly have trouble coming up with a normal topic after that uncomfortable conversation. "Um..." he said ineloquently as his brain scrambled for a topic. "Ryo wasn't at school most of the day...again. I think he got there around lunch."

Jeri pulled a face. "Oh yeah! I have English with him in the mornings and he wasn't there. I was hoping I'd get to edit his paper," she admitted sheepishly. "He makes so many errors, and he's so easy to tease." She let out a little laugh that tugged at his heart. He wasn't sure if he was feeling jealous that she had been looking forward to seeing Ryo or if he was amused by her fast-switching emotions.

He smiled. "I'm sure he'd enjoy that," he said, and Jeri giggled again. Only Jeri could insult their best Tamer's pride like that without an insult in return. I wonder what he does when he skips."

"Probably busy keeping the city safe for us," she said, and there was a tone to her voice to suggest she was proud of him. "Maybe we should start skipping and patrolling around, too."

"My mom would kill me," he said lightly, but he was hardly exaggerating. "No, I don't think we should risk that – Ryo's already in all of our teacher's pockets, so he can get away with it. And neither of our partners can fly. Leomon and Guilmon would be a bit obvious."

"I guess," Jeri sighed. She made an adorably frustrated face, like a child who couldn't get her way. "I just wish I could do more. Leomon and I aren't exactly great at working as a team yet."

"Then it's no use throwing you into battle," he said gently. "Henry or myself will help you guys out – we'll give you some tips and maybe some cards, if you need them."  
She brightened immediately. "Really? Thank you, Takato! That's what I wanted to hear." She paused, scrunching her mouth up to the side thoughtfully. "I guess I should have asked you guys earlier."

"Probably," he agreed with a grin.

She smiled cheerfully too, until a thought appeared to strike her and her face grew more serious. "Did Henry tell you how his talk with Elliot went?"

He frowned at the memory. "Uh, yeah, he did. He said she snapped at him and didn't really believe the danger. He thinks there's still hope for her to join us, though."

"Oh. I see." Her mouth twisted into a mischievous grin. "Honestly, at this point, I'd just like to see the two of them together."

Takato laughed, and after a moment he sent a nervous glance toward the doorway, which concealed the room where his mother would be working – he didn't know how she would react to seeing him out there, laughing and having fun with a close friend when he was supposed to be working. "I know," he said more quietly. "They're really well matched."

"I've been worried about him ever since the whole...Sophia thing." She almost whispered it, and winced visibly. "That was so awful. But I don't know, Takato. He's awfully stubborn, and Elliot seems quite distrustful."

"Well, they've got a sort of date planned," he said, and now he was grinning mischievously. Jeri perked up at his words, her eyebrows raised. "Elliot hasn't got any sort of transportation to her new job except a truck, and she can't drive it cuz it's a stick. So Henry's going to teach her."

Jeri let out a very girly squeal and clapped her hands together. "Takato! That's perfect!" She giggled, and her expression went vacant, no doubt imagining the scenario. "Oh, I hope he doesn't mess up. Well, he probably won't. It's Henry, after all. I guess I should worry more about her. She seemed very uncomfortable when -" Suddenly she gasped. "Oh no – I forgot to tell you! She got asked out the other day."

His heart sank. "Really? That's a shame. Well, I guess it's nothing official yet, just a date."

"Yeah," Jeri agreed. "There's still time to change her mind and see how great Henry is. With luck, they'll get a bit closer when he teaches her to drive that truck." She nodded once, mostly to herself, it seemed. They were very much alike, she and him – both dreamers, both often lost in their own little worlds no one around them could understand. As he contemplated it vaguely, his attention sharpened on her when her eyes brightened, as though an important thought had struck her. "I guess I should tell you now," she said, and Takato frowned at the wry, slightly sheepish smile on her face, and the way she was avoiding his gaze. Then her eyes met his and her voice rose, like she was about to surprise him. "I got a boyfriend!" she said happily.

Suddenly the lump in his throat returned. He tried to smile back, to seem happy for her, but he felt strangely numb. Only Jeri could put him through such a plethora of different emotions so quickly – he supposed he ought to have expected this, given that Jeri had no idea how he felt about her. She was amazing, and if he didn't make a move, someone else would be likely to ask her out. He shouldn't have felt so hurt. It was his own damned fault.

"That's great, Jeri," he heard himself saying, and when she smiled at his approval, he knew his hurt hadn't shown on his face. "I'm so happy for you – are you going to homecoming with him?" It was his innocent way of asking how serious it was.

"Yes, I think so! I guess you and Henry can meet him then. My dad's met him when he was picking me up for a date, and even he approved." She drew herself up proudly, and his heart twisted at how desperate she still was for her father's approval.

_God, he's already met her parents._ Takato smiled and said something else encouraging and happy, but he felt anything but. Suddenly he couldn't wait for her to leave so he could wallow and think about these new development. He felt vaguely he should talk to Henry – only his best friend knew how he felt about her. But even that seemed unappealing. He just wanted to be left alone for a while. He'd bother Henry about this later.

They talked until Jeri either picked up on his mood or when he became busy with other customers. She said good-bye to him in her usual cheer, and he tried to respond just as pleasantly, but his heart wasn't in it. As he rang up a few customers' orders, he watched her leave, a hollow feeling in his chest.

* * *

A/N: Next time: Henry teaches Elliot how to drive a stick. Hilarity and fluffiness ensue.

Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you liked it :D


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm sorry for the wait! I had a bunch of school stuff going on :(

This chapter mutated on me and suddenly became very long and complicated, and I revealed some stuff about Elliot that I hadn't planned, but I think you'll like it. Enjoy :D

* * *

"I didn't like him."

Elliot sighed as she adjusted the strap of the now conspicuous shoulder bag. It was particularly heavy today not just because it held her partner, but because the little white seal couldn't stop fidgeting and making himself very difficult for her to carry. She had half a mind to ask him to walk on his flippers if he was going to continue causing this much of a fuss. And as much as she loved her partner, she wasn't going to agree with him this time – her pride was on the line.

"He was nice enough, Gomamon," she said with forced patience.

Gomamon was half leaning out of the bag now, trying desperately to catch her eye. "No. He wasn't. I listened to the whole date, as your little digital guardian angel," he said dryly, "and I could tell you weren't happy with him."  
She had known that Gomamon had essentially spied on her during her date, though she couldn't exactly say she was angry at the thought, given how paranoid she had become nowadays. But she hadn't thought he understood enough of what was going on to have a problem with it. Clearly, she had underestimated her partner, and it was not the first time. Elliot took a sharp left as she continued down the sidewalk, trying to focus instead on the pleasant suburban homes rather than this particular conversation. "Really?" she said, and she knew the vagueness in her tone would irritate him. "When was that?"

Without warning, he leapt from the bag to her shoulders. If it hadn't been so unexpected, she definitely would have appreciated it – he had a very warm layer of thin white fur over him, that was for sure, and his flippers draped on either side of her neck like a scarf. But she had been so surprised, he had almost managed to unbalance her, and as she straightened herself up she huffed in annoyance. "Gomamon!" she hissed.

"What? This way I think you'll actually listen to me."

"You're going to be seen," she growled, adjusting one of his claws so it would no longer poke her.

There was a second huff, but this time it was from him, and it sent a puff of warm air toward her ear. "Oh, there's no one around. Lighten up." He adjusted himself so he sat better on her shoulders, and though she was quite annoyed with her pushy, oddly perceptive partner, she did appreciate the warmth, and perhaps the concern. "All right. I noticed it the time he tried to kiss you. And then the time after that. And his final try."  
Elliot felt her stomach clench, and she grit her teeth, wishing very much that Gomamon had not seen her so flustered and trying to come up with ways to distract or politely reject him. She didn't know what to say, because it had been very awkward for her, and though she'd never had a boyfriend before she was pretty sure she wasn't the type to kiss on a first date.

Lucas had taken her out right after school and brought her to a nice but cheap restaurant – certainly better than anything else she had been able to afford. She listened to him talk about himself a lot. His football prowess, his grades, even other girls – a topic she wasn't even sure he was supposed to address on a first date. He didn't give her a lot of time to talk, but she realized pretty early on they didn't have a lot in common, and after a while didn't see the point. He'd paid for her, too, despite her protests. And once they were in the car, he'd tried to kiss her, then grope her chest, both of which she had very calmly denied.

After an attempt to kiss her once more, he drove her home, and one they were parked he mentioned that he'd essentially done her a favor by feeding her a good meal like she had, and that probably deserved a kiss. She had interpreted it as humor at the time, but thinking back now, perhaps she shouldn't have allowed him to kiss her. His hands had tried to wander, too, which had ended the date rather abruptly.

"He made you uncomfortable. I saw it." She felt him turn to look at her, his long, thin ears brushing against the side of her head at the movement. She sighed inwardly. He was very right, and perhaps the only one who would understand should she want to talk about it.

And, oddly enough, she did, perhaps given that there wasn't much else to do as they walked. "I just...I didn't really get it, Gomamon," she said softly. "I mean...we're teenagers. We're supposed to be, I don't know, not really _experimenting_, but I guess learning how to date and such. I don't think I'm looking for casual, but by the way he was acting, I guess he's figured that out about himself already? What's the point going out with me, then?" She ended it with a question, because she really didn't get it. She did worry, though, that she wasn't explaining herself properly – Gomamon wasn't exactly who she thought she would be talking to about boys when she turned seventeen, and he wasn't exactly from this world either, so she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't quite get what she was asking.

But he surprised her, as he often did. "He's probably had a bit more experience, Elliot. Ryo said he was on his football team, so he's probably popular. And, unless I'm very much mistaken, and I'm often not, he was trying to take advantage of you because you're _less_ experienced."

She took a moment to think about this as she placed her gloved hands in her pockets. The elementary school was in sight at last. "I wouldn't go that far," she murmured. And she wasn't even sure why she was defending Lucas. Perhaps she privately wanted her first high school romance to be a success, and be as sweet as it was so often portrayed in books and movies. Perhaps she was also being very daft.

"I would," Gomamon said boldly. He reigned in his tone to something more gentle. "Elliot, I know you probably won't listen to me, but please be careful with him. I want you to experience some normal amount of teenageness, but be sure to keep your head. If he tries anything else, you're not going out with him again, and I'll do anything I can to stop it. Okay?"

Elliot paused again, choosing her words and privately surprised at the vindication in his tone. She hadn't realized Lucas had made that much of a terrible impression to her partner; perhaps she was being too kind regarding the date. "I think you've been paying too much attention to Ryo," she said idly, but inside his words had troubled her.

"Ryo's still got some sense. I wish you had the same."

She bristled. Gomamon was acting more like a protective older brother than Ryo, and though her best friend worried about her far more than he should, even he knew when to back off and let her do as she pleased. Still, she had no idea what to say to Gomamon's words, and she spent the remaining time walking up to the school thinking about what he had said.

Elliot was surprised to find, when she arrived at the courtyard of Thomas' school, her little brother had acquired an unfortunately familiar bit of company. Henry stood there watching as Thomas and a little girl played happily around the courtyard, chasing each other and yelling. She had to have been Henry's sister, and she couldn't remember if she had ever been told her name. The other Tamer was as tall and imposing as ever, but there was definitely happiness in his face as he watched the kids. Terriermon was on his shoulder, idly yapping in his ear, but Henry was paying as much attention to him as Elliot had been with her own partner.

She almost stopped at the sight of him, but couldn't see a way to avoid speaking to him since Thomas was in his company. Even though Henry was there, she was glad Thomas was taking the time to be a kid for once – he was clearly having fun chasing Henry's sister around. As she drew nearer, she learned that they had invented a complicated sort of game of tag, and there was a time limit to how long one could chase the other before the pursuer became "it" indefinitely longer. It had probably been Thomas' idea; only her brother would take the time to complicate a simple game until it became more interesting to him.

Henry noticed her arrive first. He wore a rather plain jacket that was almost too big for him; she knew he had an athletic build to show off, but apparently didn't like to draw attention to himself. He smiled genuinely at her, which only served to annoy her, whereas the same gesture from Jeri would have her smiling back. How odd. She had to pause to allow the kids to cross before she could walk up to him. "Elliot," he greeted as she drew nearer. Terriermon and Gomamon greeted each other quite happily, but their Tamers paid no attention. "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep Thomas from you for long; he mentioned he was waiting for you, so Suzy and I stayed until you had arrived." The two kids paused beside them to catch their breath. Apparently with her arrival, they had correctly surmised that they were about to leave soon.

"It's fine," she said shortly. Her breath hitched as Thomas slammed into her side for a hug; she gave him a half-hearted one-armed hug in return. "It's my fault for being late. I was at work." And I don't have a damned car to drive, she thought, but the thought brought up something she had promised Takato, and suddenly she realized how fortunate it was to have run into Henry. Now all she had to do was think of a way to mention it to him without sounding desperate. Or pathetic. Jesus, why was it so difficult for her to ask for help?

"Oh, where do you work?" Henry said idly.

"As if you don't know," she said before she could stop herself. She clenched her jaw, wondering why she would feel guilty about such a sharp response, and why the hell she would respond that way in the first place.

Henry didn't seem deterred, but she had spent enough time with him not to be surprised. "Ah, so you did end up applying at Takato's parents' bakery. That's good, I suppose. Although his mother is quite frightening." His tone softened when he said it, as though he couldn't bear to even label someone else's mother, however correct he may have been.

Despite everything, and her general distrust and dislike of Henry, Elliot couldn't help but grin. "She is that," she said, and he smiled too, pleased with her response.

It turned out Henry had brought his car, and though she definitely didn't want one, she had to accept when he offered her a ride home. As the four of them, and their partners, piled into the car, she reflected that she didn't want Thomas walking all the way home either, even if she'd be accompanying him. And, of course, she would have to work up her courage to ask Henry the favor she needed from him.

Elliot sat in the passenger's seat with both Gomamon and Terriermon on her lap. She had never really been this close to some else's partner; Ryo's Cyberdramon was obviously not the type to be held, and from the short amount of time she had spent with Renamon, the elegant digimon was not either. Even though she was unfamiliar with him, Terriermon settled happily into her lap and discussed trivial things with Gomamon, despite having seen her partner only a couple hours before, while their respective Tamers had been at school. They were both quite warm on her lap, and after being out in the cold, she was grateful for it. The car itself had looked like an old Toyota, and judging by the toys, towels, bits of sports equipment, and water bottles, it was the family car.

The kids were talking about random kid stuff in the back seat. So it left Elliot to contemplate her rather unexpected chauffeur. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering exactly how she was going to bring up her request. He really was a good driver, she realized vaguely, watching him take the few careful turns away from the school. If only he weren't so bloody annoying. But she shook her head at that. Henry _was_ a good guy. Takato and Ryo had sought to make sure she understood that. Perhaps it was his genuineness that so annoyed her, or perhaps she wasn't used to it being directed at her. Whatever the cause, she would have to get over her general dislike of him, given that she had grudgingly accepted that he was just as good as he seemed to be.

He had noticed her watching him, and he sent her a wry grin that had her looking away. And he was quite handsome, she reflected, much to her embarrassment. She thought that now was perhaps a good time to begin making conversation, but he spoke first. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted when we last spoke in calculus, Elliot. I had a lot on my mind and I didn't mean to push you into joining us."

Gomamon glanced at her, shifting his attention from Terriermon to the conversation between the two Tamers and undoubtedly hoping she would accept his apology earnestly. But Elliot hesitated, searching for the right thing to say. She was torn because she thought perhaps she should apologize too, given that he hadn't responded nearly as snappishly as she, but apologies were rather difficult for her to give.

As she struggled with a response, Henry spoke again. "But I did want to ask you something."  
Gomamon sent her a withering look. She returned the expression warningly, despite the nagging feeling that perhaps she had missed an opportunity. "Yes?" she said. She hoped it wasn't anything about joining the Tamers again.

"Are you and Ryo dating?"

Elliot took a moment to absorb the question before she burst out laughing, and Henry sent her a look with some alarm. Even Gomamon had to smile. Terriermon was more interested in her reaction, having never seen her laugh like that before. Both digimon had turned their wide eyes to her in anticipation of her answer. "No," she said at last. "We're not." Although, they almost had, a long time ago. It was why she and Ryo had stopped talking four years ago, and the memory sent a cold gripping her heart. But at least they were on very good terms now.

"Ah." A smile tugged at the corner of Henry's mouth. "Well, I thought not. You two are quite different."

That was for damned sure. It was the reason Elliot had rejected him at the time. Ryo was impulsive, adventurous and bold, whereas she tended to be more cautious and analyzing. Ryo had not understood what she meant when she had compared him to the character Tom Sawyer, despite it being a very accurate depiction of who Ryo was. Henry might understand the reference, she reflected with some amusement.

She was still reeling from the laughter. "I'd have thought you'd say yes to Melissa, though. She was very pretty." The words tumbled out, quite impulsively, and she snapped her mouth shut. Hmm, maybe she and Ryo were more alike than she realized.

There was a short pause, filled with an awkward silence, and Elliot suddenly wished she hadn't spoken. Then Henry made a face somewhere between a smile and a grimace, and he shook his head. "She was. But I don't date at the moment."

Elliot narrowed her eyes, studying him closely. She was terrible at reading people, but even she knew that sounded ominous, especially for someone usually happy and warm. Her mind fumbled with his words. She probably couldn't decipher what the hell he meant by that, but perhaps Takato would know. She would have to remember to ask him something about it next time she was at work.

She realized they were almost at Rika's house. She opened her mouth, intent on finally making the request she ought to have brought up sooner, while wrestling with the thought of how he knew where Rika lived. It bothered her, but it was unimportant for the time – she had to ask him before he dropped her off. "Uh, I actually had something I wanted to ask you, too," she said awkwardly. Damn it, why was it so hard for her to ask for help?

Henry sent her a quick glance, and she caught surprise in his gray eyes. "All right. What's that?"

"Um, well..." She hesitated, and Gomamon poked her painfully in the side. She brushed his flipper away and continued, "Can you teach me to drive a stick shift?"  
His response to this was much more genuine; he smiled and nodded once. "Sure. I'll take it you have one with which to practice?"

Ugh, his way of speaking so annoyed her sometimes. But since he had agreed to help her, she tried not to make it show on her face. "Yeah, Rika's family owns this truck, and I need it to drive to work so Takato's mom will stop hounding me about walking."

"All right. It's not that hard, you know, once you get the hang of it."

She hoped he was right. The kids grew silent as Henry parked on the street beside Rika's house. It was quite a quaint little two-story, complete with a white fence and a yard, completely appropriate for the older generations living inside but not for Rika. Elliot prayed the angrier Tamer wasn't home at the moment – she didn't know what she would say if she saw Elliot bringing Henry over. Now that she was thinking of it like that, this promised to be a very awkward little adventure, even if this wasn't really her home.

"Do you mind if Suzy stays in the house with Thomas while we drive?" Henry asked her as he unclipped his seatbelt.

"Oh, that's fine," she said.

Once the Tamers had left their partners in the truck they would soon be occupying, Elliot was then left with the task of introducing Henry to her grandmother and aunt, which brought about a whole new bout of anxiety. Henry seemed very relaxed, though, walking inside with one hand in his pocket and the other holding on to Suzy, who had fallen silent in this new environment.

But Elliot needn't have worried. Her family had met Henry before, apparently, when Rika had brought him by one day. This was a new development that Elliot had not realized and it took a lot of willpower not to mention it to him as her aunt and grandmother fawned over Henry, who they seemed to adore. Elliot received a lot of approving looks from her family as Henry spoke to them with ease, and perhaps she should have expected the question her aunt posed before she said it.

"Are you two dating?" she said brightly, holding her hands together and looking every bit the part of a proud parent whose daughter had chosen quite well.

Henry let out a soft laugh, and Elliot's collar suddenly felt unbearably hot. "No, Auntie," she mumbled as Henry maintained a cheeky grin, "we're not."

"Ah," she said, as though she knew more than Elliot was telling, which only served to annoy her further. "Just friends, then, right?"

"Don't push, Mia," her grandmother said, quite wisely in Elliot's opinion. She sent her a warm smile, clearly hoping to diffuse Elliot's embarrassment.

Henry didn't seem at all bothered by this, but he did change the subject abruptly by introducing his sister. As the women cooed over Suzy, he asked, "Is it all right if I leave her here while I teach Elliot how to drive the truck?"

To one one's surprise, they had no problem with this proposal, and Thomas looked happy to be able to spend more time with his new friend. Elliot couldn't wait to get away from all of the estrogen in the house, and she hinted rather strongly that she would like to get the driving lesson underway.

As she and Henry left through the door, her family wishing them luck and rather enthusiastically saying good-bye to Henry, Elliot wasted no time with the question. "Why were you here with Rika?" she said, clenching the keys to the truck in her hand. She didn't bother to keep the accusation out of her tone.

"Relax, Elliot," he said. He had probably expected her to ask. "It wasn't anything romantic, if that's what you're thinking. She needed help with something regarding taming and I helped her. Simple as that."

Elliot frowned, wondering what the hell she could ask Henry that Ryo couldn't answer, but Henry spoke again and cut across her thoughts.

"Why do you care?" he asked. His tone was much warmer than hers had been, and had an edge of curiosity instead of contempt.

She paused. They were walking across the recently cut grass toward the driveway, where the truck itself waited for them. It was a dusty old thing with a dark paint job, but she didn't care what it looked like, so long as it would get her where she needed to go. Inside, Gomamon and Terriermon had pressed their fuzzy faces against the passenger window, creating a rather amusing display as they walked toward them. Elliot swallowed nervously and thought of a quick answer.

"I guess it's a little weird. I never thought you two could be friends. And she's dating Ryo, so I guess I had to ask for his sake, just to be sure and stuff."

"Ah." There was another pause, and Elliot's eyes flicked towards his face uncertainly. He still wore a smile, but his eyes were unreadable. And, too late, she remembered she wasn't supposed to tell people about Rika and Ryo. Damn. "Because I'm clearly the type to sneak around with some else's girlfriend."

Elliot looked at him again, startled by his tone. He was watching her now, those cloudy gray eyes impossible to understand, and she bit her lip. She had insulted his character. "I didn't mean it like that," she said with a twinge of guilt.

They had reached the truck. Henry walked around to the driver's side as she fought frantically for something to say. She really hadn't meant to insult him, and he was doing her a favor, after all. She had to try to be nicer. Henry opened the door and climbed in; she hastened to do the same.

Of course, Elliot had to bat away a couple of very happy little digimon. After a short argument, it was eventually worked out that Gomamon and Terriermon could play in the cab behind their seats while Henry taught her, which hopefully would not be too annoying. The truck itself smelled a bit musty, and there were some very old bits of trash littered around. Elliot had been told it had once belonged to Rika's father. Hopefully there would not be too many conflicted emotions regarding her cousin if Elliot began using it.

She buckled her seatbelt and passed Henry the keys, watching his expression carefully. She wanted to apologize, but it was all the more difficult with an audience, and she hoped he had understood she hadn't meant what she said.

But Henry was all smiles again as he turned on the truck, which roared to life and hummed rather noisily. "I think there's a parking lot nearby, right?" he said, meeting her eyes at last. She caught sight of a flash of gold near the collar of his shirt, beneath his jacket, and noticed it was a crucifix. The fact that he was Christian certainly didn't surprise her; he seemed to live his life accordingly, given the few things she knew about him. There had been a time when she had been quite religious, but too many terrible memories had pushed her faith away.

Elliot tried not to squirm under his scrutinizing gaze; even when he was apparently happy, his stare could be quite intimidating. "Yeah, it's usually empty," she said over the noise of the digimon behind them; they had started up some kind of word game and were being quite noisy about it. She watched as he shifted the truck out of neutral and released the parking break. There was a pause as he tested the pedals, gently moving the car forward, before driving onto the road in earnest.

"The clutch is a little lighter than the one I was taught with," he said to her. He pulled the stick back, and the truck's engine sounded vaguely different as he shifted it into second gear. "It should make it easier for you, I think."

"Okay," she said softly. She couldn't stand the tension, the forced cheerfulness, and the guilt was gnawing at her. Despite how she might appear to others, she wasn't completely heartless. "Thank you for doing this," she added, putting as much sincerity into the words as she could muster. "I know you must have a lot of other stuff to do."

"It's no problem, Elliot. I don't mind." He took his eyes off the road for a moment to smile at her. As far as she could tell, he was sincere about it. "I don't have that much homework, anyway. And it's nice to give Suzy a chance to play with her new friend." She nodded, remembering how happy Thomas had seemed as well. "Not to mention the fact that I get to spend more time with our mysterious new Tamer," he added, adding layers to his voice that may have been flirtatious had Elliot not been so inexperienced with the subject.

She sent him a wry sidelong glance. "All right, now you're pushing it," she said, and he laughed. It was a nice sound, she supposed, not quite as boisterous as Ryo's. She smiled too.

There was a short pause. "I don't suppose you know where Ryo goes when he disappears from school?" he asked her as they drove along under the cloudy sky.

She question caught her off guard. "Uh, I wasn't aware he does," she said slowly. She had a couple ideas, but none she would share with Henry. She would keep Ryo's secrets – except for Rika, but that had been an accident, and she had been very embarrassed at the time.

"Well, if you can, talk to him about it. I don't like to see anyone missing that much school."

"I suppose our education is a bit more important than digital monsters entering the world," she said, dryly enough that he laughed again. She had probably made up for insulting him earlier. Elliot grinned and allowed herself to relax.

But the anxiety returned when he turned the truck into the vast, empty parking lot, and chose a spot away from the curbs. There was a convenience store and a gas station some distance away, closed for the moment, and the rest of the parking lot was mostly empty. She may have driven before, but the truck operated very differently than the automatic she was taught with, and the unknown frightened her. Not only that, she certainly didn't want to look stupid in front of Henry. After a moment's hesitation, Henry turned off the engine and set the parking break. She watched as he looked up at her, and his expression softened when he met her gaze.

"It won't be that bad, Elliot. The worst that will happen is you'll stall it, or maybe damage the clutch. It's not going to explode or anything."  
She found herself nodding. His voice was oddly reassuring, and she wondered vaguely if he had used it many times before, perhaps to comfort a sibling after a nightmare or one of the other Tamers after a digimon attack. He'd clearly had a lot of practice consoling someone, and she was grudgingly grateful for it.

Elliot absently unclipped her seatbelt. "All right, all right. I'm done freaking out. Let's get this over with."

"This'll be fun!" Terriermon chimed in from the back, and Gomamon giggled.

Both Tamers sent their partners annoyed looks before abruptly leaving the truck to switch seats.

When Elliot settled into the driver's seat, she had to adjust it to reach the pedals - someone much taller than her had been operating it last. Henry gave her gentle instructions as she prepared to start the truck. "Keep your foot on the clutch and the break, and turn the ignition," he said. She did so, and the engine hummed to life. She removed the parking break. "Okay. Now to make the truck move. Take your foot off the break – we're not on a decline, so it should be fine – and as you let up on the clutch, give it some gas. About as much as your foot is letting up on the clutch."  
His instructions made sense, but she was over thinking it again, probably. Now she was wishing she had paid more attention to his feet while they were driving here. Elliot clutched the tattered old leather steering wheel, bit her lip, and did as she was told, to the best of her ability.

The truck lurched and the engine silenced abruptly. Elliot jumped in her seat. "Uh, what happened?" she said, looking nervously at Henry.

He wore a wry smile. "You stalled it," he said. "You didn't give it enough gas. It's all right. I think I did the same thing the first time I tried."

She fumbled with the key and turned the truck back on. "It just stops? Turns off? Just like that?"

"Yep," he said. "That's what happens when it stalls."

Elliot blew a bit of hair out of her face. "Well, what a brilliant piece of engineering," she said with a huff. "I can see why we all drive automatics now."

She looked at him again, but to her surprise, he was biting his lip and wearing a strained smile, clearly trying not to laugh. "Try again," he said, and he couldn't keep the grin out of his voice. "A little more gas this time."

Elliot did as she was told, and this time she got the truck to move a little bit before it lurched again and turned itself off. She slammed her palms against the steering wheel. "Shit," she growled, and fumbled with the key again. It was only her second try, but already frustration wore at her.

She wasn't looking at him, but Henry made a faint sound of disapproval, and when she faced him she could see him wincing visibly. "Please don't swear," he said.

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Uh, why?"

"I don't like to hear it."

She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes as she restarted the engine. "Of course you don't," she muttered. "Uh, I mean, sorry. I won't say it." Damn, remembering to be nice was hard, especially when the person in question was so uptight and stuffy. He didn't like swearing? Really? He had to have been around eighteen years old, so it wasn't like he'd never heard it before. How damned annoying.

"What a sincere apology," he said dryly, but when she looked at him, he was holding back a smile. "All right, try again."

She did. This time she gave the truck far too much gas, but even as it revved loudly and lurched she managed to keep it moving. There was a tense few seconds as she nervously drove around the parking lot, unsure what to do next.

"Okay, nice job," Henry told her lightly from her right. "Now shift into second. Take your foot off the gas for a moment, put it on the clutch, pull the stick straight back to second gear, and push the gas again."

It seemed like an impossible amount of instructions, but somehow she worked through her fear and nervousness and listened to what he was telling her. It was also rather difficult to remain anxious when he was speaking so calmly beside her; when she bothered to listen, he was a rather calming presence, even when she happened to be operating machinery she had never driven before.

The engine seemed to pause awkwardly for a moment as she pressed the gas once more, but it settled nicely into second gear.

"Hey! I did it!" Elliot turned to smile at Henry, finding him grinning back at her, his eyes dancing with amusement. The digimon behind them had stopped playing for a moment to cheer for her.

"You did," he agreed; his elbow rested on the door and he held his fist against his cheek. Elliot couldn't tell if he was bored or in deep thought or trying not to laugh – he was impossible for her to read, but not even that could frustrate her now. She'd learned to drive the damned truck at last. Now she could get to work on time, pick up Thomas safely, and a number of other ways to make herself more useful. And she had Henry to thank for it.

The older Tamer suggested she try stopping and starting a bit to get the hang of it, and she agreed, feeling a bit more confident. There was a short moment of silence as she slowed to a stop and switched to first gear once more.

"How did you meet your partner?" Henry asked abruptly. He said it softly, as though trying not to distract her, or perhaps to not draw the digimons' attention.

Elliot hesitated, then began to slowly move the truck forward, scrambling for an answer.

"Do you want me to tell you how I met Terriermon first?" he continued gently. At the sound of his name, Terriermon paused his play with her partner, and both of them turned to listen.

She swallowed. "Uh, sure," she said. She didn't like to tell her story. It involved a lot of terror and violence, and a lot of Ryo helping her through the worst of it.

But even she had to admit she was curious as to how the other Tamers met their digimon. Her attention was suddenly very much divided between practicing with the stick shift and listening to Henry's story. "Terriermon had somehow burst through the digital plane and emerged somewhere in the city. He had been attacked by a digimon in his world, and he was weak and badly hurt." It must have been years ago that this had happened, but his voice had suddenly become detached and empty, full of pain as he recalled that night. She could very much understand this, at least – the bond between a Tamer and his digimon ran very deep, and she knew exactly how she would react if Gomamon got hurt. Elliot swallowed, her eyes on the asphalt ahead, but listened carefully. "He somehow found his way to me. I don't know if it was by coincidence, or because we were destined to be partnered or something, but I took him home, keeping him a secret from my family, and nursed him back to health. I didn't have a clue what he was, but I was eleven at the time, so that may have made it easier for me to accept that he wasn't a monster or anything."

"Eleven?" Elliot repeated loudly. "That...seems awfully young to be a Tamer." She had thought fourteen was unusual; and she knew Ryo had been around thirteen when he and Cyberdramon were partnered.

Henry shrugged. "Maybe," he said. "We didn't start getting any digimon attacks until Takato got Guilmon, though. Anyway, when Terriermon was resting and I was trying to figure out what was going on, I got my digivice, and that was that."

Terriermon leapt onto the back of Henry's seat. "And I turned out to be the best, right?" Henry chuckled softly and scratched his fuzzy head.

There was a pause as Elliot considered this story; admittedly, hers could top it easily, but it did perhaps explain Henry's reluctance to fight. He didn't want to see Terriermon in that condition again, which was certainly understandable, however Elliot knew that sometimes there wasn't much choice. It was either fight back or watch those you loved get hurt. The choice was never easy, of course.

She was well aware that Henry was waiting for her to tell her story now, but she wasn't quite ready for that. So she said: "How did Takato get his partner?"

"He created him," was the response.

"What? How?"

She couldn't see him, but he made a faint noise of amusement. "He drew Guilmon, and then swiped the drawings through a card reader. It turned into his digivice. Guilmon was born from an egg a day later."

Elliot frowned at the road, absently bringing the truck to a stop again and setting it in first gear; after a moment's pause, she made it move forward once more, this time with less of a lurch. "That all seems very..." She searched for the right word. "Unlikely," she finished lamely.

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I thought so too, until he introduced me to his partner," he said.

"Yeah, who is Guilmon? I've never heard of that digimon before."

"He's a ferocious-looking little red dinosaur with the heart of a puppy," was the lighthearted response, and she grinned at the image. "And you haven't heard of him because another Guilmon has never existed. He's one of a kind because Takato created him."  
"Hmm," she said, putting the truck into second gear. The engine revved a bit when she stepped on the gas. Now she really wanted to meet Takato's partner – he sounded adorable, not to mention interesting.

"All right, Elliot. It's your turn now." There was an edge of amused finality to his voice, but he said it rather gently. Perhaps he understood she didn't really want to talk about meeting Gomamon.

Her heart clenched, but she forced her voice to be light. "Gomamon summoned me to the digital world, and I met him there. The end." She heard her partner snort in the cab behind them.

Henry smiled dryly. "Yes, that's what Jeri said," he replied, and Elliot almost grimaced; they really enjoyed swapping stories about her, apparently. "I'm sure there's more to it than that."

"What has Ryo told you?" she asked hesitantly. Elliot certainly wouldn't tell him her life story, as she held a lot of secrets quite dearly, but she supposed he could know a little about how she met Gomamon.

"Not much. Just that he met you in the digital world, and then you two saved both worlds."

He said the words very lightly, as though talking about something much simpler, but even Elliot picked up on a bit of frustration in his tone. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to talk about it – she should have been proud of what she had done.

So Elliot decided to use what little information she knew about him to try to explain it. "Henry, you don't like to fight, right?" she said, and she found her voice was very small.

"Well, no, I don't like to see anyone hurt." He sounded surprised, and he was watching her very carefully, his gray eyes scanning her face and her mannerisms.

"But you get that's it's necessary sometimes, yeah? Especially if you want to protect those who are important?" She looked at him, finding him hesitating, and went on, "You'd do it for Terriermon, right? Or Suzy? Probably the other Tamers, too. I've seen how close you are to Takato and Jeri."

He swallowed. "I would, yes."

"Exactly. But you don't have to like it. Fighting is usually wrong, but when you don't have a choice, all sorts of moral implications come up that you have to sort out. It's not a pleasant thing to experience." She took a breath. "I met Gomamon in the digital world, and once we were set and acquainted and stuff, we proceeded to save the world."

"But why don't you like talking about it?" Henry said. He had lost the frustrated edge to his tone; now he seemed simply curious. "Ryo made it seem like...something really bad happened."

"Then you probably shouldn't have asked me," she told him dryly, and she almost smiled at the grimace on his face. She bit her lip, but found she wasn't as uncomfortable as she had been, and once she had started speaking it was suddenly difficult to stop. She hadn't talked about this to anyone, and suddenly she couldn't wait to get it out of her head so that someone else could share the burden as well. Henry had a way of calming her and making her forget her anxiety, a bit like Jeri had. It was quite a turn from the way she had spoken to him in calculus that one day – was it really just because he had helped her with the truck, and that he had told his own story? She shook her head, bemused at her own character. Was that really all it took to get her to open up? Or maybe a part of her wanted to see if this would destroy the vague image he had of her. "We figured out the threat in the digital world, and we began to take care of it. We had a lot of battles and we destroyed a lot of digimon."

"But?" he pressed gently.

She almost laughed. It would have been a bitter, cynical sound. "I was good at it." She sent Henry a glance; his expression was carefully blank. "I didn't mind fighting or hurting them. Once I figured out our power, we were on a sort of rampage, becoming more reckless than Ryo had ever been. And he encouraged it, too. He was quite happy with the Tamer he had helped create." Elliot had her eyes fixed on the steering wheel. Her voice was detached and empty. "But then I became out of control. I got Ryo hurt. Gomamon, too. I very nearly cost us the outcome of the war." She looked up at Henry. She wasn't really angry, not with him – perhaps at herself a little. She would never be able to let that go, nor forget the way Ryo had met her eyes as he bled in her arms. For a long time, there had been no difference between Elliot and her angry cousin. She'd had her reasons for becoming so out of control; Evocomon – it hurt to think of the digimon's name now, too – had hurt both Elliot and Ryo, and she had wanted to pay him back. It ran quite a bit deeper than that, but that was all it had been, in essence. It hurt to know it took so little for her to lose control. "So, there you have it, Henry. You have every reason not to like me, or even trust me. I can't imagine how this must sound to a pacifist."

Henry was silent for a long time. Elliot wasn't sure when she had stopped the truck; it was sitting in neutral now, humming quietly. It had started to rain, too. Raindrops flecked the windshield, thick and hazy, but she hadn't yet bothered to activate the wipers. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes at last. He looked pale and expressionless; she would give anything to know what he was thinking. She hadn't told him the full story, but he had the essence of it; perhaps she had given him the excuse he needed to push her away, and she wouldn't blame him one bit. She was a monster, worse than Rika had ever been.

Elliot felt Gomamon's sleek furry body against the back of her seat, and she held his flipper, sending a grateful glance into those bright green eyes. There were things she had not told Henry about her partner, too. He was special, quite so in fact, and using it they had discovered a way for the Tamers to become intimately more involved in battle. It was an understatement, of course, but she hadn't thought about it in a long time. While she had enjoyed the raw power and feeling of invincibility, it had also scared her, twisting her into something she wasn't.

"I need to think about this," he said at last, very quietly. His hands had clenched into fists, and he held them in his lap. Suddenly he refused to meet her gaze.

"Still want me on the team?" she added dryly. She was projecting a tough, cynical front, but her heart pounded, and she so desperately wanted to know how he felt now that he knew more about her. The only person who had helped her through this was Ryo. However he had seen her at her worse, violent and out of control, and had perhaps drawn his conclusions right there that there was a darkness in her that couldn't be contained. Perhaps it had been her upbringing that had played a part; perhaps it had always been there, no matter what had happened in her past. She suddenly wanted, very bitterly, for Henry to see her for who she was, and judge her accordingly. She wasn't even sure why his opinion of her mattered so much.

Henry sent her a quick glance. He clearly hadn't expected the question. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. Elliot's heart sank. She had known this would happen. She had spent a long time being disgusted with herself – others would clearly have a problem with her as well. "I'm going to have to talk with the others. But," he continued, meeting her gaze in earnest at last, "I think you feel a bit of remorse for what happened. I don't even know all of the circumstances. I probably shouldn't jump to conclusions, then." She stared at him, her heart continuing to pound, hardly daring to believe it. "I'm sure what you went through in the digital world was very...difficult. It clearly left an impression on you." He sighed. "You may have become our most valuable asset."

Her heart sank again. Ah, so that's what it was. She should have known better than to get her hopes up. He just wanted her on the team for her experience fighting and dealing with tense situations – it was nothing more than that. He certainly didn't want her there for her character, to become friends and spend time with the others.

After all she had been through, what Elliot most desired was to be accepted, flaws and pasts and all. Admittedly, she didn't make it easy for people.

She forced herself to speak. "I see," she said at last.

She had no idea what else to say – no idea how to explain how much Henry had just hurt her. Perhaps it was rather self-destructive, what she had managed to explain to him. She had only ended up hurting herself.

"Can you take us back?" he asked gently.

Elliot withheld a sigh and put the truck in first; she stalled it, and ignoring a pang of frustration, she restarted the engine and drove onto the empty road. She was thankful for the lack of cars; she still wasn't quite experienced with the truck yet, not on the open road, and especially not in the rain. She'd have to practice a bit more before she drove to work tomorrow, she supposed.

The tension in the truck was thick enough to choke on – she couldn't think of anything to say, and part of her wanted Henry to leave as soon as possible. She couldn't even bear to look at him, despite how much she wished she knew what he was thinking. When she parked the truck in the driveway back at Rika's house, Henry hesitated before unclipping his seatbelt. "You should practice starting the truck on hills. It's not that difficult, but it can be startling if you've never done it before."  
She could only nod. She felt very empty, very small, in the presence of someone so put together and composed. Compared to him, she was hardly anything, and she hated him for it. She could never measure up to the person that was Henry Darrow.

Terriermon leapt onto his shoulder, and he reached for the door of the truck, but still he hesitated. "You'll let us know if something happens, right?" he said softly.

Elliot blinked and tried to find her voice. "Like what?"

"A digimon attack, or whatever. Anything. You can come to us."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?" she said, with more harshness than intended.

Henry met her gaze steadily. She could no longer see in his eyes – not even disgust, or fear. Those cloudy gray orbs had softened into something like sympathy. "I don't like to see anyone get hurt," was the response. Elliot frowned, trying to work out if he was being sincere, as he added, with a small smile, "I'll see you in calculus tomorrow."

"Oh. Uh, sure."

And with that, he got out of the truck with his partner, leaving Elliot and Gomamon alone.

* * *

A/N: Oh inner conflict lol. Fun :D

Next time: Talks between Takato and Henry, and a bit more Rika and Ryo. I hope all these conversations aren't too boring; the action and drama arrives around the homecoming arc in a few chapters.

Leave a review if you liked it! Thanks for reading :D


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